Watches
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.
Personal Care & Safety Products · CPSC Code 1622
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Watches carry a danger score of 33/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,417 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 33/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,417
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.5%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1622 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 33/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for watches - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,417 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.5%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-5%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Watches (CPSC product code 1622, in the Personal Care & Safety Products category) generate an estimated 1,417 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 28,348 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 33/100 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 2013 (2,293 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2011 (925 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for watches is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 3,169 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by derma/conjunct to the wrist (2,416 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 4,175 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 4.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 125 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how watches 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 | 1,823 | 1,361 | |
| 5-14 | 2,616 | 1,559 | |
| 15-24 | 2,210 | 1,656 | |
| 25-34 | 2,221 | 1,233 | |
| 35-44 | 1,895 | 939 | |
| 45-54 | 1,896 | 924 | |
| 55-64 | 1,760 | 713 | |
| 65-74 | 1,421 | 640 | |
| 75+ | 1,905 | 1,555 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | Ingestion | |
| Wrist | Derma/conjunct | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Other | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Other | |
| Lower Arm | Avulsion | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Hand | Avulsion |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
10MOM INGESTED A PIECE OF A BROKEN WATCH. DX: ABDOMINAL PAIN, FOREIGN BODY INGESTION
28 YOM WITH A RASH ON WRIST FROM WATCH DX: CONTACT DERM
14YOF P/W FOREIGN BODY IN EYE, PT STATES SHE ACCIDENTALLY BROKE THE SCREEN PROTECTOR OVER HER *** WATCH AND SOME WENT INTO EYE, DX:FOREIGN BODY IN EYE
83YOF WAS IN AN ELEVATOR WHEN SHE WAS LOOKING DOWN AT HER WATCH AND HAD A SLIP AND FALL STRUCK HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY
2YOM WAS PLAYING W/ A WATCH AT HOME THAT HAD 3 BUTTOM BATTERIES, & ONLY HAD 2, PT HAD TOLD ONE OF HIS SIBLINGS HE SWALLOED THE BATTERY, MOM CONCERNED PT SWALLOWED ONE BATTERY DX SWALLOWED FORIGN BODY
31 YOF SAYS HER *** WATCH SPONTANEOUSLY CAUGHT FIRE JUST PRIOR TO ARRIVAL CAUSING A BURN TO DORSAL ASPECT OF LEFT WRIST, UNKNOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT. DX: BURN OF LEFT WRIST
58YOF PT BURNED LEFT FOREARM ON HOT STEAM X3 DAYS AGO; BLISTERED, BLISTER FELL OFF FROM *** WATCH RUBBING AGAINST IT. C/O INCREASED REDNESS & DISCOMFORT DX: CELLULITIS
47YOM PT C/O LEFT WRIST PAIN & FOREARM PAIN, PT SUSPECT FROM THE BANK OF HIS WATCH DX: CELLULITIS LEFT ARM
29 YOM. PUNTURE WOUND TO LT THUMB AFTER PT WAS TRYING TO FIX A WATCH USING A MINI SCREW RIVER. DX: PUNCTURE WOUND
14MOM SWALLOWED A PIECE OF A WRISTWATCH. DX: SWALLOWED FB
15YOM CUT HAND ON HIS *** WATCH WHEN IT SHATTERED IN HIS HAND. DX: HAND LAC
71YOF, RESTRAINED DRIVER INVOLVED IN ROLL OVER MOTORVEHICLE CRASH WITH AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT NO HEAD TRAUMA OR LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS REPORTS THAT HER *** WATCH ALERTED HER TO IRREGULAR HEART RHYTHM PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT HAS FACIAL LACERATION AND IMAGING SHOWED C-SPINE HAND AND CLAVICLE FRACTURES, DX: MULTIPLE TRAUMA
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
My COROS Apex watch became burning hot while on my wrist. I did not receive any visible burns, but I had to rip it off my wrist (and then we placed it on an ice pack and put it outside for fear it would explode/catch fire - 3 other people with me confirmed that it was painfully hot). The watch was not actively recording any activity - just in normal use mode. It no longer turns on unless plugged in, and even when plugged in it does not charge and the dial doesn't work. I bought the watch in July 2020.
Today I received the watch in the mail. I wore it for about 5 hours, and began to notice little scratches and scrapes already on the "super hardened mineral crystal" face. I figured I must have scraped it on something, but I had stuff to do, so I went about my day. At 9:16 pm, I was sitting at my computer, checking my e-mail, when all of a sudden CRACK! The glass of the watch cracked with a violent POP! Luckily the face of this explosive watch was facing away from me when it broke, otherwise small shards of hardened mineral glass may have been blasted into my face and eyes. This is a DANGEROUS PRODUCT!! I had gone for a walk with the watch on my wrist- it was a cool night, and I had just finished exercising (not wearing the watch in the gym.) I sat at my computer around 8:30. I suspect the cool outside air, coupled with my higher body heat, caused the 'titanium' case the lens is secured in to expand slightly (from body heat), then contract in the cool night air. I purchased the watch directly from Amazon LLC.
The light from the back of my Apple Watch burned my skin
Apple Iwatch overheated while I was sleeping and burned me bad.
Several months ago, I purchased an inexpensive wrist watch with an expandable wrist band. On several occasions, I found scratches on my wrist, but I didn't know what the cause was. Today, I removed my watch to apply sunscreen and the edge of the wrist band caused small lacerations on the inside of my wrist (same location as scratches I'd noticed before). The lacerations were deep enough to cause bleeding and require pressure and a bandage. I purchased the watch at the Fruitland, Maryland, Walmart Store sometime in spring 2019. It is a silver women's watch with a second hand, and a metal expandable wrist band. There is no brand name on the face. The back of the watch case has the following information engraved: Base Metal Bezel 1903 FMDWS166 IF101 BATTERY 377 JAPAN MOVEMENT FMD STAINLESS STEEL BACK On each end of the wristband it says STAINLESS STEEL on one end CHINA on the other end
My 8 year old wears a Biggerfive Brave 2 smartwatch. It never showed any codes but she ended up with a burn in a circle likely from the battery on her wrist.
Received a 2nd degree burn on my wrist from a Samsung Smart Watch that overheated while I was riding my motorcycle to work.
I purchased a 47mm watch from Wyze. It comes with a USB charge cable, which is used ~1x per week. I have been using this watch since I received it several months ago, and it has been fine. Several days ago when I tried to charge my watch nothing happened, and I felt a bump on the charging cable. I looked and saw a hole had been melted through at the charging head. This happened at some point when it was not connected to my watch.
Showing 8 of 125 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to watches on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are watches?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, watches have a danger score of 33/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,417 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from watches?
The most common injury is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 3,169 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from watches increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for watches injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 4,175 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by watches?
Of all ER visits involving watches, approximately 4.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with watches?
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 Personal Care & Safety Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 33/100 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 5-14 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.