Vises Or Workshop Clamps
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Communication & Entertainment · CPSC Code 879
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Vises Or Workshop Clamps carry a danger score of 38/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 929 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 38/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 929
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 2.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 879 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 38/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for vises or workshop clamps - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume929 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)2.2%
- Fatality rate0.96%
- 5-year trend-8%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Vises Or Workshop Clamps (CPSC product code 879, in the Home Communication & Entertainment category) generate an estimated 929 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 18,579 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 38/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2018 (1,438 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2019 (410 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for vises or workshop clamps is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 3,242 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (1,985 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 3,379 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 2.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.96%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 3 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how vises or workshop clamps 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 CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 324 | 98 | |
| 5-14 | 532 | 131 | |
| 15-24 | 2,372 | 439 | |
| 25-34 | 3,028 | 351 | |
| 35-44 | 2,239 | 442 | |
| 45-54 | 2,723 | 31 | |
| 55-64 | 2,749 | 192 | |
| 65-74 | 1,751 | 375 | |
| 75+ | 599 | 198 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Toe | Fracture | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Finger | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
48YOM WITH INJURY TO HIS LEFT EYE. STATES HE WAS USING A WOOD CLAMP AND RAN INTO THE END OF THE CLAMP STRIKING HIMSELF IN THE LEFT EYE. DX: LEFT CORNEAL ABRASION
36YOM EVALUATION OF 2CM LACERATION TO LEFT THUMB DUE TO BEING CUT ON AN EXPOSED METAL PIECE FROM A HOSE CLAMP WHILE WORKING IN THE BACK OF HIS TRUCK. DX: LACERATION OF THUMB
43YOF PRESENT TO ED C/O R THUMB PX.PT WAS USING A C-CLAMP THIS MORNING PUSHING ON A SCREW PORTION OF THE CLAMP W/ R THUMB FELT POPPING TEARING SENSATION.NO HX OF INJURY TO THE OTHER FINGERSDX:SPRAIN OF MCP JOINT OF R THUMB
52YOM, C/O HEAD INJURY, CLAMP HIT IN HEAD, FELL FROM 2 FEET DX: SCALP CONTUSION SCALP LACERATION
84YOF PRESENTS WITH A FOOT INJURY. SHE DROPPED A VISE ON IT. THE INJURY INVOLVES THE BIG TOE AND THE MIDDLE TOE. THE PATIENT WAS NOT WEARING SHOES AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. LEFT FOOT GREAT TOE HAS A LATERAL LACERATION. SHE HAS A NEAR AMPUTATION OF THE DISTAL PHALANX OF THE SECOND TOE. FOREIGN BODIES WERE VISUALIZED ON THE X-RAY. DX: OPEN FRACTURE LEFT FIRST AND SECOND TOE
18YOM PATIENT CUT HIS HAND ON A HOSE CLAMP DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT HAND WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY
84YOM BUMPED THE TOP OF HIS FOREHEAD ON A METAL CLAMP ON A TABLE IN HIS GARAGE THIS AFTERNOON. HE IS ON ***. DX: HEAD INJURY, ABRASION SCALP
15YOF PRESENTS WITH MOUTH PAIN AND DIZZINESS AFTER BEING IN SHOP CLASS AT SCHOOL AND SHE WAS WORKING WITH A METAL CLAMP WHEN IT BECAME DISLODGED AND HIT HER IN THE MOUTH; PATIENT BECAME DIZZY AFTER INCIDENT DX: LIP ABRASION, SYNCOPE, CLOSED HEAD INJURY
22YOM PRESENTS TO THE ED AFTER THE PATIENT WAS USING A SPRING LOCK IN A VICE GRIP TOOL WHEN THE SPRING LOCKED AND HIT PATIENT IN THE RIGHT EYE COMPLAINING OF PAIN. DX: RIGHT EYE INJURY, EYE PAIN, ABRASION
39YOM PRESENTS FROM WITH LITTLE FINGER INJURY. PATIENT STATES HE WAS WOODWORKING IN HIS GARAGE WHEN A HEAVY WEIGHT AND CLAMP CAME DOWN ONTO HIS LITTLE FINGER. DX: CRUSH INJURY TO FINGER WITH SUBUNGUAL HEMATOMA
56YOM PRESENTS WITH ACCIDENTALY INJURY TO INDEX FINGER AND HAND. PATIENT STATES HE WAS WORKING WITH A C-CLAMP WHICH CAME DOWN QUICKLY ON HIS THUMB AND THEN A COMPONENT SHOT BACK AND HIT HIM IN THE FINGER CAUSING LACERATION. DX: INDEX FINGER LACERATION
63YOM, PRESENTING WITH RIGHT FOREARM REDNESS SWELLING, AND PURULENT DISCHARGE THAT STARTED 4 DAYS AGO AFTER SCRATCHING HIS ARM ON A HOSE CLAMP DX: CELLULITIS OF RIGHT FOREARM
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
black plastic clamps after clamping within minutes will break , shattering and send pieces flying. This happened on several clamps. Luckily I was not standing near them.
these clips sold by amazon are a bait and switch. the quality is now so low that they explode dangerously at random. someone could get killed. today, one of these exploded in my hand and I am bleeding badly. I demand that the manufacturer and sellers face justice
Northern Tool 5" All Purpose Bench Vise, Item # 153018. The sliding jaw cracked at the joint of the round adjustable tube and the jaw.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to vises or workshop clamps on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are vises or workshop clamps?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, vises or workshop clamps have a danger score of 38/100 (low risk). An estimated 929 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from vises or workshop clamps?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 3,242 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from vises or workshop clamps increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for vises or workshop clamps injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 3,379 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by vises or workshop clamps?
Of all ER visits involving vises or workshop clamps, approximately 2.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with vises or workshop clamps?
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.
Related Products in Home Communication & Entertainment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 38/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 25-34 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
