Adult bed rails sold at Walmart, Amazon, eBay linked to multiple deaths, feds say
Three people have become entrapped by the bed rails and died since 2006
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is calling on consumers to "immediately stop using" certain Mobility Transfer Systems adult portable bed rails have been linked to three elderly deaths.
The independent federal regulatory agency's warning covers 10 models, approximately 285,000 bed rails, which can "create an entrapment hazard and pose a risk of serious injury or death to users," according to the warning notice.
During an evaluation of the bed rails, which were sold at major retailers across the nation, the agency found "that consumers can become entrapped between the bed rail and mattress, or within portions of the bed rail itself, leading to asphyxia."
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Mobility Transfer Systems adult portable bed rails can pose a risk of serious injury or death to users. (The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) )
Since 2006, at least three people have become entrapped in one model of the bed rails and died, according to the CPSC, including a 78-year-old woman in a Michigan at an assisted living facility died in 2006 followed by an 85-year-old man at an Oklahoma nursing home in 2007. The latest incident involved a 90-year-old disabled woman in California in 2013, according to the CPSC.
Still, the two companies that manufactured and sold the bed rails since 1992, Mobility Transfer Systems Inc. manufactured followed by Metal Tubing USA Inc., have yet to "recall the bed rails and to offer a remedy to consumers," the agency said.
The CPSC said it's "assessing possible future action in this matter."
Mobility Transfer Systems adult portable bed rails can pose a risk of serious injury or death to users. (The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) )
The bed rails were sold online through various retailers including Walmart.com, Amazon.com, MTSMedicalSupply.com, VitalityMedical.com and Alimed.com, according to the warning notice.
However, the CPSC also cautioned that the products were also for sale on secondhand sites, such as eBay.com.
The warning covers the following 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)