CPSC And Manufacturer Issued A Recall of Portable Bed Handles. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and manufacturer Bed Handles Inc. have issued a recall for about 113,000 sets of adult portable bed handles.
The bed handles are intended to assist adults with getting in and out of bed by giving them a bar to grip. But if the handles are installed without safety retention straps, the handle can shift out of place, creating a dangerous gap between the bed handle and the mattress. This gap creates a risk of entrapment, strangulation and death, the web site Consumer Affairs.com reports. Three women died after becoming trapped between a mattress and the bed handles. They were a woman in a Minnesota assisted living facility, a disabled woman in an adult family home, and a patient in a managed care facility in Vancouver, Washington.
Handles Don’t Have Safety Straps
The recalled bed handles, which were sold from 1994 through 2007, do not have safety retention straps to keep the bed handle from shifting out of place, according to the CPSC. The models are the Original Bedside Assistant (BA10W), the Travel Handles (BA11W), and the Adjustable Bedside Assistant (AJ1).
The handles are L-shaped, made from tubular steel, and measure 20 inches wide, 16 to 20 inches tall, with 3-foot poles that extend under the mattress. The name Bed Handles Inc. and the model number are printed on a white label on the bed handles. The handles were sold by home health care stores, drug stores, medical equipment stores, and through catalogs from January 1994 through December 2007. The price was about $100.
Consumers should immediately stop using any bed handles that do not have safety retention straps and should contact Bed Handles Inc. for free safety retention straps and installation and safety instructions. The bed handles should be used only with the straps securely in place attaching the bed handle to the bed frame in order to prevent a gap.
Consumers may contact Bed Handles Inc. at 800.725.6903 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time Monday through Friday, or online at http://bedhandles.com/recall.html.
Need Legal Help Regarding Portable Bed Handles?
The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).
