KSL INVESTIGATES
More bed rails linked to elderly deaths, no recall at this time
Jun 2, 2022, 2:54 PM | Updated: Jun 19, 2022, 9:54 pm
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning about bed rails that may have contributed the deaths of three seniors. (CPSC)
(CPSC)
SALT LAKE CITY — Bed rails have killed three elderly people federal regulators said, yet they are not being recalled this time.
Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers to immediately stop using certain adult portable bed rails.
“These products can create an entrapment hazard and pose a risk of serious injury or death to users,” The CPSC said. “CPSC evaluated the bed rails and found that consumers can become entrapped between the bed rail and mattress, or within portions of the bed rail itself, leading to asphyxia.”
The bed rails were manufactured and sold by Mobility Transfer Systems Inc. from 1992 to 2021, and by Metal Tubing USA Inc. in 2021 and 2022. Neither company has agreed to recall the bed rails and to offer a remedy to consumers, the CPSC said, adding they are “assessing possible future action in this matter.”
Three people have died after becoming entrapped in one model of the bed rails according to the CPSC. None of the deaths were in Utah. A 78-year-old woman in a Michigan assisted living facility died in 2006, an 85-year-old man in an Oklahoma nursing home died in 2007, and a 90-year-old disabled woman in California died in 2013.
The product safety commission said consumers should immediately stop using these models:
- Freedom Grip (model 501)
- Freedom Grip Plus (model 502)
- Freedom Grip Travel (model 505)
- Reversible Slant Rail (model 600)
- Transfer Handle (model 2025)
- Easy Adjustable (model 2500)
- 30-Inch Security Bed Rail, single-sided (model 5075)
- 30-Inch Security Bed Rail – Extra Tall, single-sided (model 5075T)
- 30-Inch Security Bed Rail, double-sided (model 5085)
- 30-Inch Security Bed Rail – Extra Tall, double-sided (model 5085T)
Various online retailers sold about 285,000 of the bed rail. Consumers who have had issues with the products are asked to report their experience at www.SaferProducts.gov.
Bed rails have long been a safety hazard subject to recalls.
Last year, a similar product produced by a different company led to a recall.
Four models of hand bed rails made by Essential Medical Supply were linked to one death in 2012. The CPSC said users could become trapped between the rail and the mattress and suffocate.
Essential Medical Supply offered a refund to impacted consumers.
In 2015, a recall covered 113,000 sold under the name Original Bedside Assistant, Adjustable Bedside Assistant, and Travel Handles. Three women died in 2014, two of them elderly and one disabled, after becoming trapped in the gap. All three women lived in group facilities.
