The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recorded 13,073 "video game-related (not necessarily video game-caused)" emergency room visits in 2020. In an infographic released by the Commission on Twitter, a malicious cartoon video game controller declares, "You're next, Luke," but perhaps Luke should be more afraid of the "controller's face."

However, it is a bit unfair to assume that the controller itself is malicious. There are plenty of controllers being thrown at or "in the direction of" someone with a controller-related injury. Perhaps the bigger problem there is the enraged or frustrated sibling who quits the game in a fit of rage. Also documented were "celebratory injuries" and various falls. [The data collected highlighted a number of people who were admitted to the ER due to pain from prolonged play (back pain, chest pain, wrist pain, etc.). Although the brand name was withheld in the data set, it is likely that the Oculus Quest 2 was used. This headset was recently removed from Amazon EU storefronts because the pads contained an irritant that affected a small number of users.

Sometimes game-related injuries are just injuries - you are probably the one most responsible for putting your teeth in your ears in the middle of a session - but sometimes there are structural flaws, as in the potentially seizure-inducing sequence in last year's "Cyberpunk 2077" Sometimes. That's why things like the Consumer Product Safety Commission exist in the first place.

It is hard to blame gaming for the one scorpion injury reported by the USCPSC: "A 15-year-old patient was sitting on the couch playing video games when he was suddenly stung in the left buttock.

In 2018, Chris compiled a decade's worth of gaming and computer-related ER visits, including one such gem of a tooth in the ear as above, as well as people injured in various ways by laptops.