Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare is recalling nearly 500,000 adult portable bed rails and handles after two elderly people died as a result of the product’s defective design. According to an alert posted on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) website, the recall includes four different models of its Bed Assist Handle and Bed Assist Rail adult portable bed rails.
Details of the Recall
The alert states that when attached to an adult’s bed, users can become entrapped within the bed rail or between the rail and the side of the mattress. This poses a serious entrapment hazard and risk of death by asphyxiation. Drive has received two reports of the entrapment deaths associated with two of its Bed Assist Handle bed rails (models 15064 and RTL15073).
The deaths occurred in February 2011 and February 2014 respectively and involved a 93-year-old woman at her home in California and a 92-year-old man who was at an assisted living facility in Canada. In both cases, the bed rails were not securely attached to the bed and the users became entrapped between the rail and the mattress, CPSC says.
The brand name “Drive” and the model number are both printed on a label located on the product’s metal tubing. The rails are made of steel tubing either in white or chrome. They were sold at medical supply stores nationwide and online at amazon.com and walmart.com between October 2007 through December 2021 for between $30 and $80. Most of the units – 496,100 – were sold in the United States, 68,000 were sold in Canada and about 119 were sold in Mexico.
Product Liability Issues
There is no question that these are extremely dangerous design defects that could prove fatal for the elderly who are frail and vulnerable. Product manufacturers have a responsibility to design and manufacture products that are safe for consumers. In this particular case, these bed rails are meant for people who are either ill or frail because of their advanced age.
If you or a loved one has been injured using these or other products, it is important that you reach out to an experienced product defect lawyer to better understand your legal rights and options. Victims may be able to receive compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering while families that lose loved ones may be able to seek compensation by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Source: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2022/Drive-DeVilbiss-Healthcare-Recalls-Adult-Portable-Bed-Rails-After-Two-Deaths-Entrapment-and-Asphyxiation-Hazards
