Wooden Containers
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.
Containers & Packaging · CPSC Code 1125
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Wooden Containers carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 7,984 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 7,984
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 35-44
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1125 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for wooden containers - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume7,984 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.7%
- Fatality rate0.01%
- 5-year trend-4%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Wooden Containers (CPSC product code 1125, in the Containers & Packaging category) generate an estimated 7,984 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 159,676 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 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 2024 (11,737 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2006 (5,294 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for wooden containers is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 8,150 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (7,062 cases). The 35-44 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 23,946 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 4.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.01%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how wooden containers 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 | 6,929 | 4,655 | |
| 5-14 | 8,201 | 4,694 | |
| 15-24 | 12,470 | 5,500 | |
| 25-34 | 12,457 | 8,144 | |
| 35-44 | 14,789 | 9,157 | |
| 45-54 | 12,465 | 9,447 | |
| 55-64 | 12,417 | 9,942 | |
| 65-74 | 6,748 | 7,963 | |
| 75+ | 6,055 | 7,580 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Toe | Fracture | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Leg | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Toe | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
46YOM WITH INJURY TO RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER. STATES HE WENT TO SET DOWN A WOODEN CRATE WHEN HE SMASHED HIS FINGER BETWEEN IT AND ANOTHER CRATE RIPPING PART OF HIS FINGERNAIL OFF. DX AVULSION OF NAIL OF LEFT MIDDLE FINGER, LACERATION OF FINGER
18YOM WITH LEFT FOOT PAIN. STATES HE DROPPED A PALLET ON HIS LEFT FOOT. DX: CONTUSION OF LEFT FOOT
61 YOM C/O ARM PAIN AFTER HOLDING PALLETS DX INJURY TENDON BICEPS
26YOF PRESENTS WITH RIGHT FOOT PAIN AFTER HITTING FOOT ON A PALLET JACK AND HAVING HER FOOT GO UNDER A WOODEN PALLET DX: FOOT CONTUSION
43 YOF HAD A WOODEN BASKET FALL ONTO FOOT DX: PAIN
18YOF WAS THE RESTRAINED DRIVER INVOLVED IN A MVC SWERVED TO AVOID RUNNING INTO A WOODEN PALLET IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD LOST CONTROL OF HER VEHICLE AND HIT A TREE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY; STRAINED NECK; ACUTE PAIN OF RIGHT KNEE
51YOM PRESENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN AFTER PULLING A HEAVY PALLET OFF OF A TRUCK AND TWISTING HIS LOW BACK DX: ACUTE LUMBAR MYOFASCIAL STRAIN
67 YOF TRIPPED OVER A PALLET AND FOOSH DX; R RADIUS FX, R KNEE CONTUSION
62 YOF S/P FALL 1000 TODAY. SHE WAS MOVING WHEN THE LEFT SIDE OF A PALLET FELL ON HER. DX CALL, ACUTE PAIN LEFT KNEE
53YOF PATIENT STATES THAT SHE WAS STANDING ON A PALLET TO GET CLOSE TO HER WASHING MACHINE WHEN HER FOOT FELL THROUGH AND HEARD AND FELT A POP TO HER FOOT DX: CLOSED FRACTURE OF RIGHT FOOT, DISLOCATION OF RIGHT FOOT
81YOF C/O FACIAL LACERATION S/P PT STATES SHE STATES SHE WAS WALKING THROUGH HER HOUSE WHEN SHE TRIPPED OVER THE DOOR'S FLOOR THRESHOLD AND LANDED ON A WICKER BASKET AND CUT HER RIGHT CHIN. DX: FACIAL LACERATION
37 YOF IS HOMELESS. STAYING IN A TENT WHERE SOME PALLETS CAUGHT FIRE. +BURNS TO HANDS. ?FD DX NS
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
(01/24/2024) The consumer stated that the varnish on the box was still tacky when she received the product. Also, the smell was very strong. The varnish got on her hands and on her food. The consumer is not sure if she washed her hands before eating but she started to get headaches and had severe vomiting and diarrhea. The consumer had to go to ER twice.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to wooden containers on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are wooden containers?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, wooden containers have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 7,984 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from wooden containers?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 8,150 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from wooden containers increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for wooden containers injuries?
The 35-44 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 23,946 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by wooden containers?
Of all ER visits involving wooden containers, approximately 4.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with wooden containers?
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 Containers & Packaging
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 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 35-44 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.
