Danger score versus ER volume
Danger score versus ER volume
According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Water Skiing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) ranks #370 of 838 by danger score (36/100) at ER-volume #266 of 838 (6,071/yr). They are not the same ranking.
- #370
- danger rank of 838
- #266
- ER-volume rank of 838
- 36/100
- danger score
- 6,071/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 (36/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories
36 Around the middle lower than 44% 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: 46/100
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) | 6 | 49th | 35% | CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index |
| Annual ER injury volume | 6,071 | 62nd | 30% | CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries |
| 5-year injury trend | -18% | 38th | 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 121,413 estimated ER injuries land on the body
Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 1264. Segments sum to 121,413 - 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 Sports & Recreation Equipment 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.
Sports & Recreation Equipment danger scores
How this 36/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume 6,071 ER visits/yr Above median volume
- Severity (hospitalization rate) 5.7% Above median admission rate
- Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
- 5-year trend-18%
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 water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) are declining by about 18% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (9,928 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2024 (3,651 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 10,293 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (6,073 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 44,700 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 5.7% 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 water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) 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 | 226 | 55 | |
| 5-14 | 9,568 | 4,555 | |
| 15-24 | 31,614 | 13,086 | |
| 25-34 | 16,658 | 6,329 | |
| 35-44 | 11,806 | 4,874 | |
| 45-54 | 8,812 | 4,258 | |
| 55-64 | 4,841 | 1,938 | |
| 65-74 | 1,719 | 708 | |
| 75+ | 283 | 80 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Leg | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Shoulder | Dislocation | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Leg | Fracture | |
| Upper Trunk | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
14YOF WAS WATERSKIING AND FELL. DX: ANKLE SPRAIN.
29YOM REPORTS INJURING HIS RIGHT ANKLE YESTERDAY WHILE WAKEBOARDING - HYPERFLEXION INJURY; DX: ANKLE SPRAIN AND STRAIN
63YOM PRESENTS TO ED FOR FOOT PAIN. PT WAS WATERSKIIGN THIS AFTERNOON WHEN CAUGHT AN EDGE ON THE SKI CRASH. NO LO. DX: LISFRANC DISLOCATION RT
22 YOF C/O KNEE INJURY THAT HAPPENED 1 HR PTA WHILE ON A WAKEBOARD. DX: POSTERIOR DISLOCATION OF THE R KNEE.
15 YOF WAS WAKE BOARDING FELL INJURED HIP DX: PAIN
16YOM WAS WAKE BOARDING WHEN HE CAME DOWN HARD ON HIS RIGHT SIDE DX:SPLEEN LAC
53YOM COMES TO THE ER WITH KNEE PAIN. HE STATES HE WAS TRYING TO STAND UP ON A ***, PULLED BY A BOAT. WHEN HE FELT A POP. HE TRIED TO STAND AGAIN AND FELT ANOTHER POP. EXAM POSITIVE FOR TENDERNESS, JOINT SWELLING AND PAIN. DX: EFFUSION KNEE RIGHT
37YOF PRESENTS WITH RIGHT SUBSCAPULAR PAIN PRESENT OVER A WEEK. SHE WENT WATER SKIING AND FELT A POP BUT DID NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT PAIN UNTIL THE FOLLOWING DAY. DX: RIGHT SHOULDER PAIN, STRAIN MUSCLES AND TENDONS ROTATOR CUFF RIGHT SHOULDER
26YOM STATES THAT HE WAS WAKEBOARDING WHEN THE WAKE BOARD ROPE PULLED ON HIS LEFT ARM CAUSING HIM TO FALL INTO THE WATER NOW HAS SIGNIFICANT PAIN DX: LEFT ARM PAIN
14 YOF WAKEBOARDING ACCIDENT AT LAKE DX CONCUSSION
61YOM WAS WATER SKIING AND DEVELOPED PAIN ACROSS CHEST DX: CHEST WALL PAIN
14YOM WAS WAKEBOARDING IN THE GULF WHEN HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO DO A FLIP OFF THE BOARD AND LANDED ON HIS HEAD DX: CLOSE HEAD INJURY
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
While using a HydroSlide wake board my nephew went over one side of a wake and came down the other and wiped out. Upon turning the boat around to retreive him I saw that his feet were still in the boots and the boots were no longer attached to the board. I went online and found similar issues of broken bindings(http://www.boatersworld.com/etc/powerreviews/pwr/product-reviews/7553/Wakeboards/Hydroslide/p/478322191-Hydroslide-Black-Widow-Wakeboard.html). His ankles were really bruised and I thought possibly broken at first. My guess is no testing of the plastic was done for impact? As a product safety engineer I know about things like this and these should not be breaking under normal use. At the very least I thought it should be brought to your attention.
I was using the slalom ski and was doing a deep water start behind my supra inboard ski boat and the ski broke in half. The material under the laced binding broke. See pictures. These were only used three times this season. No injury sustained as I was able to let go of tow rope after ski broke and was only using one ski. I did get dragged under water due to broken ski.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Compare beyond Sports & Recreation Equipment
Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization
Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Water Skiing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment): cross-group products nearest on danger score (36/100), estimated annual ER visits (6,071/yr), and hospitalization share (5.7%). 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 Sports & Recreation Equipment
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, Water Skiing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) ranks #370 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #266 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) rank on danger score versus ER volume?
Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) ranks #370 by PlainSafety danger score (36/100) and #266 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (6,071/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.
What are the most common injuries from water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 10,293 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Down 18% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 44,700 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 5.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (94.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
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.