Study Finds 68% of Firework Injuries Occur in July

A new five-year analysis of national emergency room data finds that firework injuries in the United States are heavily concentrated on the Fourth of July, with the single date accounting for roughly 28% of all cases recorded in a given year. The study, conducted by Monge & Associates Injury and Accident Attorneys in partnership with iLawyer Marketing, estimates that fireworks send approximately 12,341 people to the hospital annually, and arrives weeks before the 2026 Independence Day holiday.

Key Findings:

• Fireworks cause an estimated 12,341 hospitalizations each year, with 68% of all injuries occurring during July alone, more than eight times the share of the next-highest month.
• July 4 is the single worst day, accounting for about 28% of annual firework injuries, followed by July 5 at 16.8% and New Year’s Day at 5.5%.
• Roughly 29% of all firework injuries are severe, including third-degree burns, amputations, and blindness. Amputations affect about 5.8% of patients.
• Thermal burns account for about half of all injuries, with burns to the hand the single most common injury at 14.4% of patients.
• Individuals under 18 make up nearly a third (32%) of all firework injuries, and 61.8% of all sparkler-related injuries occur in this age group.

The data also challenges the assumption that risk falls only on those lighting the fireworks. While 55% of injuries occur to people actively handling them, nearly a quarter happen to bystanders, including spectators struck by stray debris. “The concentration of these injuries on a single day tells us this is a predictable, preventable public safety event, not a random occurrence,” said a Senior Research Analyst at iLawyer Marketing. “What stands out in the data is how often the injured party did nothing more than stand nearby. That reframes fireworks as a community risk, not just a personal one.”

The findings carry particular weight for families, given how many of the injured are minors. “When roughly one in three injuries involves someone under 18, and sparklers, often handed to the youngest children, drive the majority of those cases, it points to a gap between public perception and actual risk,” the analyst added.

Why This Matters

Sparklers are widely treated as a harmless introduction to fireworks, yet the data indicates they are a leading driver of injuries among children. As consumer firework sales continue to expand into backyard and informal settings with less supervision than professional displays, the analysis suggests the burden of these injuries falls disproportionately on young people and unsuspecting bystanders. The concentration of cases around a single, foreseeable holiday offers public health officials, regulators, and families a clear window for targeted prevention.

Methodology

Researchers analyzed the most recent five years of emergency room visit data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a database operated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, to estimate national firework injury totals across patient characteristics, severity, and injury type. The full study is available at https://www.becauseyouwanttowin.com/firework-injury-statistics/.

About Monge & Associates

Monge & Associates Injury and Accident Attorneys is a national personal injury law firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, representing injured clients since 1993. With offices across the United States, the firm focuses on personal injury, car accidents, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death litigation.

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