Feds Warn of Bedrails That Can Entrap; Three Deaths Reported

FRIDAY, June 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- At least three elderly Americans suffocated after getting trapped in Mobility Transfer Systems adult portable bedrails, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says anyone who has the rails should stop using them immediately.

The warning applies to 10 models of bedrails made 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 285,000 bedrails they have sold or to offer consumers a safety solution, according to CPSC. It added that it is weighing future possible action.

The agency said patients can become trapped between the bedrail and mattress, or within portions of the bedrail itself, leading to asphyxia. At least three people have died after becoming entrapped in one model of the bedrails. They include a 78-year-old woman in a Michigan assisted living facility in 2006, an 85-year-old man in an Oklahoma nursing home in 2007, and a 90-year-old disabled woman in California in 2013.

The bedrails were sold at Walmart.com, Amazon.com, MTSMedicalSupply.com, VitalityMedical.com, Alimed.com, and other online retailers for between about $30 and $170. The bedrails are also offered for sale on secondhand sites, such as eBay. Anyone with the bedrails should immediately stop using them, then disassemble and dispose of them, CPSC advised.

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