Shocking Garage Door Injury Statistics

Whether it’s a residential garage door, a huge cargo door for a big box store, or a roll-up door for a mall retail store, one thing is certain: Without proper maintenance and repairs, overhead doors they can literally become death traps. With reports peppering the nation of injuries from faulty sensors or outdated garage doors snagging on feet, children, and pets, a substandard garage door is a big liability. However, the actual injury statistics may surprise you.

According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance Survey (NEISS), the most common type of garage door injury is “pinched/crushed section joints,” which happens to approximately 7,550 Americans each year. This includes “fingers trapped between section joints, (and) includes amputations, avulsions, etc.” It is not surprising that this is the most common, but what is surprising is how serious these injuries can be. All it takes is a few missed maintenance inspections or a bad spring to make a claim on your family or business.

“Crushing” reports

The second most common injury occurs from “falling doors,” with more than 2,100 Americans falling victim to this each year. According to NEISS, this happens when a “door falls off for any reason” and includes reasons like poor installation, outdated and unmaintained doors, or any number of other things. However, a quality garage door with a solid installation won’t fall “for no reason,” so requiring top-notch doors and installations is critical.

“Sharp edges” account for more than 800 injuries each year, and is defined by NEISS as “garage door window glass lacerations.” Today’s garage doors, when they have glass, are shock resistant. If they break, which is rare, it’s similar to when a car window breaks. The result is rubbery and messy, but there are no sharp edges. Unfortunately, that’s not true for older overhead doors.

Rounding up the main offenses

“Other entrapments” happen to nearly 200 Americans each year. “Half of these fingers got caught between the rollers and the tracks,” according to the research, and could also fall into the pinch/crush category. Rails and rollers are some of the most common parts that need maintenance, but it’s always best to have it handled by a professional.

The “race to beat the door” causes about 135 injuries each year in the US “People trying to get through the opening before the door closes” is a dangerous game, but fruitless if you have a good tilting door with sensors. When this is the case, the sensor will stop the door from closing (and perhaps reopen it) when motion is detected.

playing it safe

Finally, “riding the door” can (unsurprisingly) cause about 90 injuries per year in the US. This should be avoided with a little common sense, but of course that’s something kids and teens don’t have galore. However, a swing door that is up to date and undergoes regular inspection they should being able to support the weight of a child, of course, should never be put to the test.

The vast majority of these injuries can be avoided with common sense, maintenance and upgrades. Dispensing with these three is a gamble that no homeowner, landlord, or business owner should take since the house (or in this case, the garage door) always wins.