200,000 portable bed rails are being recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission following 18 reported deaths in three years. The death toll appears to be for the entire nightmarish product category; those manufactured by Medical King in Brooklyn, New York, are specified by the latest of 9 recalls targeting it.
According to the CPSC, 92% of fatalities associated with adult portable bed rails are from "entrapment" of the head or neck. People fall or slide into them and are hanged or asphyxiated. Mandatory safety standards for adult portable bed rails were issued in 2023 but it doesn't seem to be helping.
"Those taking care of the elderly or individuals with mobility limitations or those with mental challenges shouldn't have to worry that a critical piece of support equipment they rely on could lead to serious injuries or death," CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric was quoted in a press release. "During National Care at Home Month, we want to encourage all caregivers – whether in private homes or in institutional settings – to ensure that the adult portable bed rails they use are installed correctly, used properly and have not been previously recalled."
Previously:
• RECALL: Delicious Tyson plastic fritters reportedly contaminated with chicken
• Recall alert: delicious lead dust tainted with ground cinnamon
