Table saw injuries: 31,444 ER visits and the amputation problem
Table saws cause more amputations than almost any other consumer product. What the hospital data shows.
Table and bench saws were involved in an estimated 31,444 emergency room visits in 2025. The finger is injured in 85% of cases.
What kind of injuries
Laceration is the most common diagnosis (60%). Amputations make up 11% of table saw ER visits in 2021–2025, roughly 3,371 a year. That is a far higher share than for most other tools.
How the injuries happen
Most table saw injuries come from a hand contacting the blade, often after kickback pulls the work piece and the hand toward it. CPSC has studied blade-contact detection technology for years. It proposed a mandatory performance standard in 2017 and a revised one in 2023, then formally withdrew the 2017 proposal in September 2025. No mandatory US standard is in force, so this protection is still optional.
- Keep the blade guard, riving knife and anti-kickback pawls fitted.
- Use a push stick for any rip narrower than about 6 inches.
- Never reach over or behind a spinning blade.
- Set the blade height so it clears the work piece by no more than about a tooth.
Full data: Table saws · Circular saws · Other power saws (miter, tile, unspecified).