Yeah, I have used small, packable hatchets for a few decades, and thank the Lord, somehow I have retained all of my fingers and toes (Maybe just better to be lucky than good, I don't know)

I think sometimes they are considered more dangerous because people try to use them to do things that they really need a full size axe, or saw, or maul, or whatever to accomplish. They use more force than they should, and something bad happens. That can happen with a lot of tools. People try to use knives to do things that really require a more substantial tool, and they get hurt doing that too.