Wire, Not Specified
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 837
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Wire, Not Specified carry a danger score of 39/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 9,242 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 39/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 9,242
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 5.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 45-54
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 837 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 39/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for wire, not specified - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume9,242 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)5.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+4%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Wire, Not Specified (CPSC product code 837, in the Home Communication & Entertainment category) generate an estimated 9,242 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 184,836 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 39/100 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 2006 (12,691 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2018 (6,201 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for wire, not specified is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 24,237 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (11,470 cases). The 45-54 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 27,835 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 5.8% 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 wire, not specified 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 | 2,965 | 1,978 | |
| 5-14 | 11,964 | 6,834 | |
| 15-24 | 18,789 | 5,136 | |
| 25-34 | 18,463 | 6,843 | |
| 35-44 | 18,669 | 5,735 | |
| 45-54 | 18,181 | 9,654 | |
| 55-64 | 14,864 | 8,275 | |
| 65-74 | 10,113 | 6,643 | |
| 75+ | 9,710 | 9,919 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Puncture | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Hand | Puncture | |
| Finger | Puncture | |
| Foot | Foreign Body | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Foreign Body | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
14YOF PRESENTS WITH A METAL WIRE IN THE PLANTAR SURFACE OF HER LEFT FOOT. PATIENT WAS BAREFOOT IN THE HOUSE AND SOMEHOW LANDED ON THIS METAL WIRE. DX: FOREIGN BODY FOOT SUPERFICIAL, RIGHT
20 YOM WITH A HEADACHE AND FACIAL PAIN X 3 DAYS THAT HAS PROGRESSIVELY WORSENED AFTER AN INJURY. PATIENT STATES THAT HE WAS RUNNING TO THE CAR IN THE RAIN, SLIPPED WHICH CAUSED HIM TO EXCEL FORWARD AND HIT HIS FACE AND HEAD ON A STREET WIRE AND POLE. DX INJURY HEAD, BLUNT TRAUMA NOSE
60 YOM REPORTS A METAL WIRE IN EAR CANAL. STATES HE TOOK BLUES LAST NIGHT TO HELP WITH THE PAIN. UDS +AMP, FENTANYL. DX: FOREIGN BODY OF RIGHT EAR.
73YOM HE FELL STRAIGHT FORWARD ONTO HIS ANTERIOR NECK AND LANDED ON A COPPER WIRE WHICH WENT INTO HIS SKIN AND IS NOW EMBEDDED IN HIS THROAT DX: PHARYNGEAL IRRITATION
81YOM WAS WALKING AT HOME WHEN HE TRIPPED OVER A WIRE AND FELL ONTO HEAD DX: LACERATION TO FOREHEAD, CLOSED HEAD INJURY
65YOF PATIENT WAS WALKING WITH HER WALKER, SHE TRIPPED OVER SOME WIRES AND FELL. SHE HIT HER RIGHT LEG ON A LADDER. DX: THIGH PAIN
70YOF,AT HOME MECH SLIP AN FALL TRIPPED OVER SOME WIRES AN LANDED ON ARM,SHOULDER,FOREARM,DX:FX HUMERUS
40YOM PATIENT WAS RIDING A MOTORCYCLE, HE WAS DRIVING SLOW AND LOOKING FOR A WIRE. THE MOTORCYCLE ENDED UP FALLING ON HIS LEFT LEG. HE REPORTS PAIN IN HIS RIGHT THIGH AND RIGHT ANKLE. DX: THIGH ABRASION, LEG PAIN, MVA, RIGHT LEG SWELLING
17YOM PT WITH CRUSH TYPE INJURY TO LEFT THUMB WHILE IN SHOP CLASS @ SCHOOL. WAS TAKING AN ENGINE OUT OF A BUS WHICH WAS SUSPENDED IN AIR WITH CHAINS & SMALL PIECE OF WIRE CUT LEFT THUMB DX: CRUSHING INNJRY OF LEFT THUMB, PAIN LEFT THUMB
50YOM, FIVE DAYS AGO SUSTAINED PUNCTURE WOUND TO INDEX FINGER ON A PIECE OF WIRE WHICH HE PULLED AND GRADUALLY NOTICED HAND SWELLING AND ERYTHEMA, DX: CELLULITIS UNSPECIFIED
30YOM PRESENTS WITH LACERATION TO ELBOW. PATIENT STATES HE WAS OUT IN THE DARK AND TRIPPED OVER WIRE LANDING WITH HIS FOREARM AROUND THE BASE OF A TREE. DX: FOREARM LACERATION
77YOM PRESENTS WITH ARM INJURY AFTER TRIPPING OVER A WIRE AND CUTTING HIS ARM. DX: FOREARM LACERATION
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
The consumer indicates that his water company installed some wires in his yard in order to hold up marking flags. The wire is sharp on both ends and can become rusty; if a person steps or lands on it, they could be seriously injured. The consumer notes that although the wires are temporary, his son was injured approximately one month ago when the water company left them on the ground, and although it was a minor laceration on right foot, his son did require the use of a [REDACTED]. The consumer contacted the water utility company and explained the situation; the representative he spoke with informed him that he could submit a complaint on their online form. The consumer plans on keeping the product for at least the next thirty days in case an investigation ensues.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG5LB1BZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details "YUTIANHOME Fiber Pulling Eye Kit for Simplex and Duplex Fiber Optic Patch Cables" See those yellow strands? It turns out those are fiber optics. They tell you to cut it, they mention there's kevlar in there but at no point do they mention that those are unterminated raw fibers. If a raw fiber pokes you that glass cladding stabs into you and can very easily snap off because raw fibers may be sharp glass, but they're quite weak. This is extremely problematic being that the outer cladding is as pure as they can make it which means that the body doesn't readily reject it. You generally have to cut it out, and the whole process is horrifically painful. Zero warnings. If it were a [REDACTED] doll covered in razor blades at least you could see the razor blades, this is worse and almost invisible. Luckily I did not get stuck by it.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to wire, not specified on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are wire, not specified?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, wire, not specified have a danger score of 39/100 (low risk). An estimated 9,242 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from wire, not specified?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 24,237 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from wire, not specified increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for wire, not specified injuries?
The 45-54 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 27,835 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by wire, not specified?
Of all ER visits involving wire, not specified, approximately 5.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (94.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with wire, not specified?
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 39/100 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 45-54 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.