Homeowners Insurance
It Doesn’t Hurt to Know: Fewer Americans Injured in Summer Activities
Sun’s out, fun’s out. Summer is a blast … until someone gets hurt. Injuries rise with the temperatures, as many of the summer activities we love come with risk.
With summer in full swing in the U.S., ValuePenguin analyzed injuries from 13 summer activities, tasks or equipment items over 10 years. One bright spot: The number of these injuries dropped 11.9% between 2014 and 2023.
The news isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. Read more about which months are the most injury-filled and who’s the most likely to get hurt.
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Key findings
- August was the third most injury-filled month in 2023. This month last year saw 1,119,522 injuries treated in emergency departments. September saw the fourth most injuries in 2023 at 1,109,545. The only 2023 months with more injuries were July and May.
- Across 13 summer activities, tasks or equipment items, injuries treated in emergency departments dropped 11.9% over 10 years. Our studied categories range from air conditioners to beach, picnic and camping equipment to lawn mowers. These 13 categories saw a total of 482,441 injuries in 2023, down from 547,632 in 2014.
- The most dangerous of the summer categories we tracked is swimming activity, pools and equipment. This category saw 1,788,465 injuries from 2014 through 2023, far ahead of lawn and garden care equipment (848,077) and lawn mowers (792,449). Swimming activity injuries in the past 10 years have seen numerous ups and downs.
- While young children are the most likely to be hurt, injuries among older Americans have grown the most. Between 2014 and 2023, young Americans 5 to 9 (498,170) had the most injuries by age group, followed by those 10 to 14 (443,283). However, injuries among those 80 to 84 rose 60.5% in the same period — the most of any age group.
- Men are much more likely to injure themselves in summer activities. Men sustained 63.6% of the injuries across the 13 summer activities from 2014 through 2023.
August brings more summer injuries
If ever there was a time to make sure you know the location of the closest emergency department, now is it.
When we examined injuries that led to emergency room visits in 2023 (we’ll get more into summer-activity-specific stats soon), August was the third most injury-filled month, at 1,119,522. September 2023 followed with 1,109,545.
However, the most injury-filled months are behind us at this point in the year. July 2023 ranked first with 1,168,210 injuries that wound up in emergency departments, followed by May 2023, at 1,140,931 injuries. The least injury-filled months were February (926,536) and January (969,947).
Injuries that led to emergency department visits in 2023 (by month)
Month | Injuries with emergency department visits |
|---|---|
| July | 1,168,210 |
| May | 1,140,931 |
| August | 1,119,522 |
| September | 1,109,545 |
| June | 1,095,420 |
| October | 1,062,406 |
| April | 1,060,970 |
| March | 1,054,717 |
| November | 1,019,489 |
| December | 1,012,564 |
| January | 969,947 |
| February | 926,536 |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) data. Note: This isn't limited to the 13 summer activities, tasks or equipment items.
Why do injuries spike during the summer and cool down in the winter? It’s likely because people are more active in the summer, says Divya Sangameshwar, ValuePenguin home insurance expert.
"The beloved summer season is when Americans take advantage of the warm weather and long daylight hours for parties, pool days, backyard barbecues, gardening and so many more outdoor activities," she says. "However, with more people in their backyards, near swimming pools, grills, fireworks and more, opportunities for accidents and injuries rise."
Injuries from summer activities fall 11.9% over 10 years — here’s which activities saw the most
Is summer getting safer? Perhaps.
When we analyzed injuries treated in emergency departments across 13 summer activities, tasks or equipment items, we found an 11.9% drop over 10 years. There were 482,441 injuries in these categories in 2023, down from 547,632 in 2014.
The categories:
- Air conditioners
- Barbecue grills, stoves and equipment
- Beach, picnic and camping equipment
- Chain saws
- Hand garden tools
- Hatchets and axes
- Lawn and garden care equipment
- Lawn mowers, all types
- Other power lawn equipment
- Outdoor electric lighting equipment
- Pumps
- Swimming activity, pools and equipment
- Trimmers and small power garden tools
The decline wasn’t steady, but COVID-19 seems most likely to blame for some of the most recent increases.
In 2020 (the first year of the pandemic), there was a major decrease (17.5%) in injuries in these categories. As the pandemic waned, injuries in these categories bounced back a bit, increasing by 5.3% in 2021 and 11.2% in 2022.
However, the injury rate took another fairly significant dip (9.0%) in 2023, so we may be moving back in a safer direction.
Injuries from popular summer activities, tasks or equipment (by year)
Year | Injuries with emergency department visits | YoY % change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 547,632 | N/A |
| 2015 | 566,848 | 3.5% |
| 2016 | 602,917 | 6.4% |
| 2017 | 599,787 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 577,044 | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 548,754 | -4.9% |
| 2020 | 452,945 | -17.5% |
| 2021 | 476,860 | 5.3% |
| 2022 | 530,267 | 11.2% |
| 2023 | 482,441 | -9.0% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of CPSC NEISS data.
As for the categories that landed the most people in emergency departments, swimming activity, pools and equipment topped the list at 1,788,465 injuries from 2014 through 2023.
While swimming activity injury rates have seen ups and downs in the past 10 years (four increases and five decreases), the number is more than double the next closest category — lawn and garden care equipment, at 848,077 ER visits from 2014 through 2023. Lawn mowers came in third in this period, at 792,449.
Popular summer activities, tasks or equipment with the most injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by product)
Summer activity, task or equipment item | Injuries with emergency department visits |
|---|---|
| Swimming activity, pools and equipment | 1,788,465 |
| Lawn and garden care equipment | 848,077 |
| Lawn mowers, all types | 792,449 |
| Hand garden tools | 537,962 |
| Chain saws | 264,268 |
| Beach, picnic and camping equipment | 242,624 |
| Other power lawn equipment | 220,643 |
| Trimmers and small power garden tools | 217,826 |
| Barbecue grills, stoves and equipment | 211,863 |
| Air conditioners | 141,980 |
| Hatchets and axes | 124,140 |
| Pumps | 14,429 |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of CPSC NEISS data.
Among the categories with data for 2022 and 2023, two summer equipment items saw injury increases — hatchets and axes (15.7%) and air conditioners (1.6%). The biggest decreases were for hand garden tools (16.6%) and beach, picnic and camping equipment (12.7%).
What about your financial responsibility if someone gets harmed at your home by an activity, task or piece of equipment? It depends, Sangameshwar says. If you or a person living with you gets injured, your health insurance will generally cover the cost of care. However, the situation becomes a little more complicated if a guest gets injured on your property.
"While the guest’s health insurance should cover the cost of their care, they can come after you to cover any costs their health insurance may not cover, especially if the injury is serious," she says. "The personal liability portion of your homeowners insurance will cover these costs up to your policy limits."
Depending on the laws in your state, you may also face social host liability if a guest gets drunk in your home, drives impaired and causes an accident. In fact, 43 states in the U.S. have some form of social liability laws.
"Homeowners insurance policies provide limited coverage for social liability, so it’s important to check with your insurer on what coverage you have and its exclusions," Sangameshwar says.
Young children, men most likely to injure themselves in summer
Some segments of the population are more prone to summer injuries than others, and young children top the list. Between 2014 and 2023, young Americans ages 5 to 9 (498,170) had the most summer injuries by age group, followed by those 10 to 14 (443,283).
Sangameshwar says various factors make young children more injury-prone, both physically and cognitively. For example, children’s bones grow faster than their muscles, which makes them susceptible to injuries.
"Children are also constantly exploring and testing the world around them, and this natural curiosity can be extremely risky, especially if they don’t understand the dangers," she says. "Older children may also engage in riskier behaviors, which puts them at risk of injuries."
The key to preventing injuries is closely supervising children and keeping adventurous little ones away from potential dangers.
"Sadly, many Americans have a very relaxed attitude toward summer safety," Sangameshwar says. "In a recent survey, we found 12% of Americans see nothing wrong with allowing children 12 or younger to use a pool unsupervised. Also, 21% of Americans feel it’s perfectly safe for children 12 and under to play with fireworks unsupervised."
Injuries from popular summer activities, tasks or equipment (by age)
Age | Injuries with emergency department visits in 2014 | Injuries with emergency department visits, 2023 | Injuries with emergency department visits, 2014-2023 | 10-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 4 | 29,926 | Not available | 317,253 | Not available |
| 5 to 9 | 47,547 | Not available | 498,170 | Not available |
| 10 to 14 | 41,689 | 37,306 | 443,283 | -10.5% |
| 15 to 19 | 31,026 | 26,908 | 302,648 | -13.3% |
| 20 to 24 | 28,573 | 20,694 | 252,325 | -27.6% |
| 25 to 29 | 31,346 | 19,919 | 263,906 | -36.5% |
| 30 to 34 | 35,830 | 21,562 | 295,423 | -39.8% |
| 35 to 39 | 33,766 | 25,850 | 305,577 | -23.4% |
| 40 to 44 | 34,540 | 28,621 | 297,017 | -17.1% |
| 45 to 49 | 35,962 | 21,494 | 300,146 | -40.2% |
| 50 to 54 | 41,189 | 27,928 | 347,127 | -32.2% |
| 55 to 59 | 37,513 | 25,804 | 349,367 | -31.2% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of CPSC NEISS data.
Though young children are the most injury-prone with summer activities, older Americans are catching up. Injuries among those ages 80 to 84 rose 60.5% between 2014 and 2023 — the biggest percentage increase of any age group. Meanwhile, injuries among 10-to-14-year-olds (the youngest group we could measure by change) decreased by 10.5%. The biggest decrease (40.2%) was among those 45 to 49.
As for gender, men are significantly more likely to land in the emergency department than women. They sustained 63.6% of the injuries across the 13 summer activities we tracked from 2014 through 2023.
Injuries from popular summer activities, tasks or equipment, 2014 to 2023 (by gender)
Gender | Injuries with emergency department visits | % of injuries over 10 years |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 3,424,844 | 63.6% |
| Women | 1,960,371 | 36.4% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of CPSC NEISS data.
Protecting yourself from summer injuries: Top expert tips
Nothing snuffs out summer fun like an injury. Taking a few preventive measures can help minimize risk and maximize fun. Here are a few:
- Host wisely. If you plan to host a backyard or house party, take safety steps before guests arrive. Make sure a fire extinguisher is handy if there’s a grill fire, and don’t allow unsupervised play around pools or grills. You may also consider skipping backyard fireworks and limiting the amount of alcohol you serve to prevent intoxicated guests from wreaking havoc inside and outside your home.
- Practice water safety. Always take extra precautions around water and ensure all adults know pool safety practices. Supervise young children, install safety devices such as pool alarms and fences, and teach children how to swim.
- Check your coverage. Focusing on safety alone can leave you vulnerable, so do a thorough insurance checkup before opening your doors to guests. The dangers of not knowing what your insurance covers could expose you to financial risk, especially if you’re underinsured. For example, if you’ve made significant updates to your home, like installing a brand-new shed or gazebo, but haven’t added that to your policy, or if your net worth increased recently but your liability coverage is low, Sangameshwar says you may be on the hook for the cost of repairs for your home or medical bills for your guests beyond what your policy will cover. Enough insurance coverage will offer you financial peace of mind if something goes wrong. Also, take steps to ensure the safety of your guests to protect you against potential liability. If you can demonstrate to your insurer that you have taken reasonable measures to protect your home, Sangameshwar says you’ll have greater protection against liability claims.
Methodology
ValuePenguin researchers analyzed Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) data across 13 categories to track injuries across popular summer activities, tasks or equipment items. These were:
- Air conditioners
- Barbecue grills, stoves and equipment
- Beach, picnic and camping equipment
- Chain saws
- Hand garden tools
- Hatchets and axes
- Lawn and garden care equipment
- Lawn mowers, all types
- Other power lawn equipment
- Outdoor electric lighting equipment
- Pumps
- Swimming activity, pools and equipment
- Trimmers and small power garden tools
We estimated the total number of injuries involving these categories from 2014 through 2023. Additionally, we analyzed demographic data.