Danger score versus ER volume
Danger score versus ER volume
According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Toy Bows Or Arrows ranks #717 of 838 by danger score (28/100) at ER-volume #651 of 838 (351/yr). They are not the same ranking.
- #717
- danger rank of 838
- #651
- ER-volume rank of 838
- 28/100
- danger score
- 351/yr
- estimated ER visits (avg)
Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.
Where this category's danger score sits nationally
Danger score (28/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories
28 Among the lowest lower than 85% of 838 product categories
scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024
Composite verdict
Composite Safety Score: 25/100
One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.
| Dimension | Value | National percentile | Weight applied | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) | 3 | 29th | 35% | CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index |
| Annual ER injury volume | 351 | 20th | 30% | CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries |
| 5-year injury trend | -28% | 24th | 15% | CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries |
| Consumer incident reports | 2 | 25th | 20% | CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count |
Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.
Where 7,032 estimated ER injuries land on the body
Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 1338. Segments sum to 7,032 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.
Two danger lenses
Same-group peer scores and this product's dial
The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Toys & Children's Recreation group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.
Toys & Children's Recreation danger scores
How this 28/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for toy bows or arrows - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume 351 ER visits/yr Low volume
- Severity (hospitalization rate) 3.4% Below median admission rate
- Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
- 5-year trend-28%
Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for toy bows or arrows are declining by about 28% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2015 (877 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2008 (128 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 1,294 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the mouth (793 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 4,021 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.4% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how toy bows or arrows fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 1,454 | 454 | |
| 5-14 | 3,096 | 925 | |
| 15-24 | 276 | 311 | |
| 25-34 | 99 | 180 | |
| 35-44 | 62 | 138 | |
| 45-54 | 32 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Mouth | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Mouth | Puncture | |
| Mouth | Other | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Laceration | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
3YOM HAS RIGHT HAND INJURY FROM TOY BOW AT HOME. DX: CONTUSION RIGHT HAND, ABRASION RT HAND.
11YOM PATIENT WAS HIT IN THE EYE WITH A *** ARROW. HE HAD ONE EPISODE OF EMESIS DUE TO PAIN AND SHOCK. HE HAS BEEN HAVING LEFT EYE PAIN, BLURRY VISION, PHOTOSENSITIVITY AND A HEADACHE. DX: BLUNT TRAUMA OF LEFT EYE, ABRASION OF SCLERA OF LEFT EYE, CHANGE IN VISION
5YOM WAS HIT IN THE EYE WITH A PLASTIC TOY ARROW DX: ABRASION OF RIGHT CORNEA
11MOM WAS WALKING YESTERDAY WHEN HE FELL FORWARD AND LANDED HIS LEFT FOREHEAD AGAINST A PLASTIC TOY CAUSING A LACERATION TO HIS FOREHEAD. DX: LACERATION OF FOREHEAD
2YOF WAS PLAYING W A TOY PLASTIC BOW AND ARROW AND HIT EYE W IT DX: CORNEAL ABRASION
10 YOM WITH EYE PAIN AFTER HIT IN EYE WITH A TOY ARROW DX:L ABRASION CORNEA
3YOF PLAYING WITH A TOY ARROW AND POKED SELF IN EYEDX L EYE INJURY
8YOM BROUGHT IN AFTER TRIPPING AND HITTING HIS EYE WITH A BLUNTED PRACTICE ARROW. BRUISING AROUND EYE WITH LACERATION NOTED UNDERNEATH. SIGNIFICANT SWELLING AND VISION IMPAIRMENT REPORTED. DX: LEFT EYE INJURY, PRESEPTAL CELLULITIS
2 YOF RUNNNG W/TOY ARROW IN MOUTH AND HIT COUCH DX; MOUTH LAC
7YOM STRUCK BY BOW FROM A TOY ARCHERY SET. DX: FACIAL LAC
12YOM PRESENTS AFTER HE WAS STRUCK IN THE EYE WITH PLASTIC BOW AND ARROW WITH FOAMY TIP. PATIENT HAS SMALL ABRASION UNDERNEATH LOWER EYELID. DX: EYE INJURY SUPERFICIAL RIGHT
7YOM WAS PLAYING WITH A *** BOW AND ARROW 1 DAY AGO WHEN IT HIT HIS FACE, NOW WITH SWELLING TO RIGHT EYE. DX: FACIAL SWELLING; LEFT WITHOUT BEING SEEN.
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
A dangerous toy design that malfunctions and makes button batteries easily accessible to children. It is a Play Day LED Archery Set from Walmart, safe for ages 3+. A 4 & 7 year old. Normal play. The toy malfunction, the batteries came loose, and there is a perfect slot at the end of the "arrow" where the batteries fell out. We could not find all 3 batteries. A 21 month old lives in the home as well and feared he may have found/eaten it. Luckily the 3rd battery was eventually found after hours of searching, but this could cause serious and dangerous harm to any child playing with this toy set.
I was assembling the toy bow and arrow for my daughter, and half of the bow snapped back and slammed my hand, causing serious pain. I tried to put it together again, but when it was clear the two pieces were not going to fit together properly in order to screw them together, I went to remove the two pieces. I stopped, not wanting to potentially injure my hand again, so I got scissors to cut the elastic rope that made the piece hit my hand so forcefully in the first place, knowing I would never allow my child to play with the toy because of its obvious hazards. When I cut the elastic string, it snapped so hard, it left welt marks on both of my thighs, through pants. At this point, I put the toy in a place no children would get to it and tried to call the company, but they were closed. Obviously, the tension in the elastic string is too great to have the consumer be responsible for assembling the bow and arrow. The pain is persisting into my wrist and I will follow up with my doctor if it continues to persist to see if anything is broken.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to toy bows or arrows on the CPSC website.
Compare beyond Toys & Children's Recreation
Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization
Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Toy Bows Or Arrows: cross-group products nearest on danger score (28/100), estimated annual ER visits (351/yr), and hospitalization share (3.4%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.
Similar danger score
Nearest cross-group products by PlainSafety danger score (100-point scale).
Similar ER visit volume
Nearest cross-group products by NEISS estimated annual ER visits.
Similar hospitalization rate
Nearest cross-group products by % of NEISS ER visits resulting in hospital admission.
Related Products in Toys & Children's Recreation
Read with this product
About this data
CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.
According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Toy Bows Or Arrows ranks #717 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #651 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does toy bows or arrows rank on danger score versus ER volume?
Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, toy bows or arrows ranks #717 by PlainSafety danger score (28/100) and #651 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (351/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.
What are the most common injuries from toy bows or arrows?
The most common injury is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 1,294 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from toy bows or arrows increasing or decreasing?
Down 28% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for toy bows or arrows injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 4,021 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by toy bows or arrows?
Of all ER visits involving toy bows or arrows, approximately 3.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.6%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with toy bows or arrows?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.