Home Accident Statistics: Is Your Home as Safe as You Think?

You might feel safe at home, but in reality, thousands of people died from home accidents in 2017.1 Many Americans are clueless about how to prevent minor burns, poisonings, electrical shocks, suffocations, and other common household accidents.

You can take steps to prevent home accidents and preserve your family’s health and well-being. Read more on some common triggers, home injury statistics, and easy-to-apply home safety tips.

Baby crawling on precarious windowsill

Common home injuries

  • Poisoning
  • Falls
  • Suffocation
  • Drowning

Common problems in the home that lead to injuries

  • Inadequate railings and banisters
  • Unsafe storage of medications
  • Water heaters set too high
  • Firearms improperly stored or locked up

Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of injury, but since they don’t usually take place in the home, we’re not addressing them here.

Poisoning

In 2017, 64,795 people died of poisoning in the US.2 That may sound surprising, but in 2011, the National Safety Council reported that poisoning jumped up to become the leading cause of home and community death.3
What’s poisoning?
Definition

Poisoning includes gas leaks and med mixups like overdoses, not just toxic chemical ingestion.

Falls in the home can be fatal

Falling is the second leading cause of home death.4
  • In 2017, 36,338 people in the US died from a fall.5
  • 20% of falls cause serious injury cases.6
  • Falls are an especially common home injury threat for the elderly. Thirty million older adults fall each year. These falls cause around 30,000 deaths.7
  • About 300,000 older adults are hospitalized each year for hip fractures.8
  • Over 95% of hip fractures are caused by falls.9

Other household risks

The next-highest home and community safety risk is airway obstruction (choking, suffocation, and strangulation).10 Water-related incidents, particularly drowning, come next.11 Drowning is followed by accidents involving fires and burns, which claimed more than 2,500 lives in 2015.12

Children and home accident statistics

Children have a high risk for injuries and accidents around the home. Each year, 2,000 children under 14 die from a home injury.13 The leading causes of childhood injury in the home are fire and burns, suffocation, drowning, firearms, falls, choking, and poisoning.14
Accidental Injury Statistics for Children
For burns, injuries caused by hot liquids or steam are more likely to be sustained by toddlers. Children in older age groups more often sustain injuries from direct contact with flames.15

Drowning is the leading cause of death and injuries in children ages one to four.16 Water’s a big threat to children as it’s possible to drown in as little as two inches of water. Always remember that little to no supervision is dangerous any time young children are around water in the home.

Drowning is the leading cause of death and injuries in children ages one to four.

Home injury prevention tips

While the household injury statistics are alarming, there’s a lot you can do to avoid getting hurt in or near your home. Here are some simple ways to prevent the most common home injuries.

How to prevent poisoning

  • Store cleaning products safely and out of the reach of children.
  • Don’t use food containers as storage for hazardous materials.
  • Clearly label all unmarked liquid containers.
  • Install a carbon monoxide detector to monitor the levels in your home. Here’s a guide we wrote about the best carbon monoxide detectors.
  • Never mix household cleaning products together, especially bleach and ammonia (they create toxic gas).
  • Be cautious when taking and storing medicines. Read the directions carefully and put medications away in a secure location right after use.
  • Monitor heaters and fireplaces. Get them cleaned every year before the cold weather months.
  • Monitor children while in the kitchen. Don’t leave them unattended around stoves, microwaves, or ovens.
  • Post the poison control center phone number in your kitchen. That includes on the refrigerator and near the phone. You should also store it in your cell phone.

How to prevent falls

  • Clear clutter! This is crucial to consider when preventing falls. Instead of placing items on the floor, put them in storage rooms, bins, or closets to avoid hazardous footing.
  • Get rid of rugs. Tripping on them causes If you don’t want to get rid of your rugs, put tape or rug pads under small rugs to keep them from sliding.
  • Safety-proof stairs. Place a gate at the top of the banister and provide adequate handrails on both sides of the staircase. For small children, place safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, and use banister guards to stop little ones from slipping between the balusters. Adding attached carpeting or a runner to hardwood stairs can provide more traction to prevent sliding.
  • Bathroom safety. Place grab bars and nonslip mats in your bathroom and bathtub.
  • Light it up. Install sufficient lighting and night lights in the bathroom.
  • Wear slippers or shoes with rubber soles. Walking around in socks increases the likelihood of slipping and falling, and going barefoot could cause you to injure your foot.
Medical fall alerts
Protip

Do you have a medical condition that makes falling more likely? We’ve researched and ranked some of the best medical alert systems, all of which include fall detection.

Learn More

How to prevent choking and suffocation

  • Always watch children! It’s easy for kids to choke or suffocate on little things, especially their own toys, so put these items away in a safe place once they’re finished with them.
  • Keep trash bags and other plastic bags out of the reach of children. If you don’t have high or hidden shelves or cupboards, try any of the best childproofing locks.
  • Keep strings, ropes, and cords away from kids.
  • Practice safety when putting babies to sleep. Remove any objects from their bed that could cause them to choke or suffocate.
  • Monitor children during mealtime. Teach them the proper way to chew and eat food. Cut up things that can be eaten in smaller portions for babies and smaller children. Avoid candy and other hard foods that make it easier for them to choke.
  • Check the house regularly for small items and put them away to prevent children from swallowing and choking on them.

How to prevent water-related injuries and flooding

  • Never leave water running when you’re not around.
  • Monitor your children while they are bathing so that they won’t drown.
  • Monitor your own use of water while bathing and don’t use electronics in or around the water. (Put down the cell phone too!)
  • Turn off the washing machine and dishwasher when you’re finished using them.
  • Turn your water off when you leave your home for a long period of time (as long as it’s not cold enough for pipes to burst).
  • Keep toilet lids closed. No more excuses!
  • Limit pool access. If you have a home swimming pool, install four-sided fencing to separate the house and yard from the pool. Clear toys and floaties from the pool once finished and never leave children unsupervised while swimming.

How to prevent fires and burns

  • Install smoke detectors in every level of your home, most importantly in your kitchen, bedrooms, and basement. Replace batteries every six months and test your alarm monthly. Better yet, have a monitored smoke detector, especially if you’re not home. Read our research on the best smoke detectors for your home.
  • Be careful when cooking. You don’t want to leave the kitchen for too long or your food could burn, which could cause a fire.
  • Maintain your home’s heating system. Clean all chimneys, fireplaces, and furnaces regularly.
  • Have an electrician come in and check your electrical wiring
  • Keep children away from matches and lighters.
  • Cover power outlets if you have mobile kids or pets.
  • Don’t leave candles lit overnight or when you leave the home.
  • Keep a fire extinguisher We even recommend having multiple fire extinguishers in different areas of your home.
  • Always be prepared for a fire. Create a fire safety plan and make sure everyone in the household knows how to follow it. To learn more, check out our guide on fire safety.

Be prepared

If people are aware that home injuries and fatalities can be prevented, they’re more likely to take precautions to keep these accidents from happening.

If you’re looking for other ways to keep your home safe, feel free to check out our best home security systems rankings article.


Sources:

  1. Statista, “Rate of Unintentional-Injury-Related Deaths at Home in the US 1930 to 2017
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Accidents or Unintentional Injuries
  3. National Safety Council, “Top Causes of Unintentional Injury and Death in Homes and Communities
  4. National Safety Council, “Top Causes of Unintentional Injury and Death in Homes and Communities
  5. National Safety Council, “Top Causes of Unintentional Injury and Death in Homes and Communities
  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Keep on Your Feet—Preventing Older Adult Falls
  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Keep on Your Feet—Preventing Older Adult Falls
  8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Keep on Your Feet—Preventing Older Adult Falls
  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Keep on Your Feet—Preventing Older Adult Falls
  10. National Safety Council, “Top Causes of Unintentional Injury and Death in Homes and Communities
  11. National Safety Council, “Top Causes of Unintentional Injury and Death in Homes and Communities
  12. National Safety Council, “Top Causes of Unintentional Injury and Death in Homes and Communities
  13. Stanford Children’s Health, “Accident Statistics
  14. Stanford Children’s Health, “Accident Statistics
  15. Johns Hopkins Medicine, “Burns in Children
  16. Stanford Children’s Health, “Accident Statistics