Water Slides, Public (stationary Amusement Rides)
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.
Sports Protective Equipment & Gear · CPSC Code 3295
Down 17% over 5 years
The verdict
Water Slides, Public (stationary Amusement Rides) carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 4,800 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 17% over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 4,800
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 1.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 3295 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for water slides, public (stationary amusement rides) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume4,800 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)1.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-17%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Water Slides, Public (stationary Amusement Rides) (CPSC product code 3295, in the Sports Protective Equipment & Gear category) generate an estimated 4,800 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 95,990 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 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 declining by about 17% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2015 (7,222 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (2,130 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for water slides, public (stationary amusement rides) is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 12,195 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (8,479 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 42,013 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 1.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how water slides, public (stationary amusement rides) 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 | 7,914 | 5,236 | |
| 5-14 | 22,577 | 19,429 | |
| 15-24 | 4,267 | 9,299 | |
| 25-34 | 3,390 | 6,995 | |
| 35-44 | 4,539 | 5,063 | |
| 45-54 | 1,880 | 2,827 | |
| 55-64 | 937 | 1,175 | |
| 65-74 | 305 | 154 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Ear | Other | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Foot | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
2YOF SLIPPED ON BABY WATER SLIDE & HIT HER CHIN. NO LOC. DX: LACERATION CHIN
6YOM PRESENTS TO ED W/MOTHER FOR EVAL AFTER HEAD INJURY. FRIDAY HE WAS IN *** AT A RESORT, WAS ON A WATER SLIDE WHEN HE COLLIDED W/ANOTHER CHILD.THEY STRUCK HEADS.NO LOC.SINCE THEN PT HAS HAD NUMEORUS EPISODES OF VOMITING,& PERIODS OF SPACING OUT.HAS DEVELOPED A HEMATOMA ON HIS FOREHEAD. DX: CONCUSSION
2YOF WAS GOING DOWN WATERSLIDE AT WATER PARK AND DEVELOPED PAN IN LEFT EAR DX:OTITIS EXTERNA
16YOM STATES THAT HE WAS GOING DOWN A WATER SLIDE AT THE WATER PARK WHEN HE SUDDENLY DEVELOPED PAIN IN RIGHT EAR DX: RIGHT OTITIS MEDIA
12YOM WAS GOING DOWN A WATER SLIDE AND STRUCK HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY
2YOM WAS GOING DOWN A WATER SLIDE AT THE WATER PARK AND STRUCK LEFT FOOT DX: LEFT FOOT INJURY
2YOM WAS PLAYING ON A *** IN THE BACKYARD WHEN HE FELL DX: FRACTURED LEFT LOWER LEG
12YOM PT C/O SHOOTING LEFT SIDE TESTICULAR PAIN AFTER SPENDING A DAY @ WATER PARK DX: LEFT TESTICULAR PAIN, CYST OF EPIDIDYMIS
13YOF WAS CLIMBING UP THE STEPS OF A WATER SLIDE AT THE WATER PARK AND FELL TWISTING RIGHT THUMB DX: STRAINED FINGER
18MOM WAS PLAYING ON A WATER *** AT THE PARK WHEN HE FELL DX: FRACTURED RIGHT LOWER LEG
22 YOM WENT DOWN A WATERSLIDE AT A WATER PARK. WHILE GOING DOWN THE SLIDE HE COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER PERSON. DX:LEFT EYEBROW LACERATION
25YOM WAS IN *** A COUPLE DAYS AGO GOING DOWN A WATER SLIDE STRUCK HIS LEFT FOOT CONTINUED PAIN DX: CONTUSION FOOT
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to water slides, public (stationary amusement rides) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are water slides, public (stationary amusement rides)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, water slides, public (stationary amusement rides) have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 4,800 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from water slides, public (stationary amusement rides)?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 12,195 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from water slides, public (stationary amusement rides) increasing or decreasing?
Down 17% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for water slides, public (stationary amusement rides) injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 42,013 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by water slides, public (stationary amusement rides)?
Of all ER visits involving water slides, public (stationary amusement rides), approximately 1.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with water slides, public (stationary amusement rides)?
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 Sports Protective Equipment & Gear
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 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.
