Hand tools · #36 of 45 by ER visits

Hand saws & hacksaws: injury statistics

Manual saws for wood and metal. In 2025 they were involved in an estimated 3,379 emergency room visits in the US.

Hand saws & hacksaws
Photo: mattartz / Unsplash
3,379
ER visits in 2025
3.3%
admitted or transferred
-20%
change since 2016
21%
aged 65 or over

ER visits per year

2016–2025 · 69 sampled cases in 2025
2016: 4,22316’2017: 4,81717’2018: 3,99018’2019: 3,68019’2020: 4,00820’2021: 3,47621’2022: 4,66622’2023: 2,42523’2024: 3,77324’2025: 3,37925’
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Injury type

Share of ER visits, 2021–2025

Laceration77%
Other5.5%
Contusion or abrasion5.3%
Fracture5.1%
Amputation2.3%
Foreign body1.7%

Body part injured

Share of ER visits, 2021–2025

Finger47%
Hand26%
Lower arm4.2%
Eye4.1%
Lower leg2.7%
Shoulder2.4%

Age of injured people

91% male · 2021–2025

0-40.1%
5-143.9%
15-2411%
25-4430%
45-6434%
65-7412%
75+8.7%

Real cases

From NEISS case narratives, 2024–2025. Abbreviations expanded.

79-year-old male using a hand saw and cut finger. — diagnosis: Finger laceration.
46-year-old male was cutting a piece of wood with a hand saw and accidentally cut left 4th finger. — diagnosis: Open fracture of finger, laceration of finger with damage to nail.
16-year-old male with a finger laceration. He was using a saw when his hand slipped and was cut at approximately 1915 this evening. — diagnosis: Finger laceration.
47-year-old male, accidentally cut his finger while using a handsaw — diagnosis: Laceration of left ring finger; open nondisplaced fracture of distal phalanx of left ring finger.
Recalls

Recalls of hand saws & hacksaws

No CPSC recalls matched this tool type since 2010. Search all recalls.

Questions

How many people are injured by hand saws & hacksaws each year?

About 3,379 people were treated in US emergency rooms for injuries involving hand saws & hacksaws in 2025, according to CPSC's NEISS estimates. The average over 2021–2025 was 3,544 a year.

What are the most common injuries from hand saws & hacksaws?

Laceration is the most common diagnosis (77% of cases 2021–2025), and the finger is the most often injured body part (47%).

How often do injuries from hand saws & hacksaws need hospital admission?

3.3% of ER visits ended with the patient admitted or transferred to another hospital in 2021–2025.

About these numbers

National estimates from the CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), product codes 830, 894. A case is counted if the tool appears in any of its three product fields. Estimates under 1,200 or based on fewer than 20 cases are flagged. Methodology · CSV

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