Bed Rail Injury Lawsuit

Bed rails are intended to help prevent serious injuries and deaths by preventing patients from accidentally falling out of bed. Instead, in some cases, patients may be endangered by bed rails. The FDA has received hundreds of reports of patients becoming entrapped between a bed rail and a mattress or a bed frame, causing life-threatening entrapment, suffocation, or even death.

What You Can Do & How a Bed Rail Injury Lawsuit Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting bed rail induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured or died from an accident involving a bed rail, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call us toll-free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

UPDATE: 272,000 Bed Rails Recalled After 3 Deaths

In April 2024, Essential Medical Supply re-announced a recall for about 272,000 Endurance Bed Rails after the deaths of 3 elderly people who became trapped and suffocated.

Bed Rails Linked to 284 Deaths Since 2003

In July 2023, officials decided to strengthen the mandatory safety standards for adult portable bed rails after finding reports of 284 deaths between January 2003 and December 2021. Click here to read more.

102,000 Vaunn Medical Bed Assist Rails Recalled for Deadly Hazard

In March 2023, about 102,000 Vaunn Medical Bed Assist Rails were recalled due to serious asphyxia and entrapment hazards. No injuries or deaths were reported, but the bed rails pose a deadly safety hazard:

When the recalled bed rails are attached to an adult’s bed, users can become entrapped within the bed rail or between the bed rail and the side of the mattress. This poses a serious entrapment hazard and risk of death by asphyxiation.

This recall involves two models of Vaunn Medical Bed Assist Rail adult bed rails, model numbers M876N-AAWH-APVM and M876N-SABK-APVM. They were sold online from December 2018 through December 2022 for between $40 and $80.

LumaRail Adult Portable Bed Rails Recalled After 1 Death

In February 2023, Platinum Health recalled about 53,000 LumaRail Bed Assist Rails due to a risk of entrapment, asphyxia, suffocation and death. In October 2021, an 81-year-old man at a nursing home in Pennsylvania died of positional asphyxia after becoming trapped between his mattress and the bed rail.

The recall involves the following bed rails:

Bed Assist Rail with Legs (model PHB4000)
Free Standing Bed Assist Rail (model PHB6000)
DoubleSafe Bed Assist Rail (model PHB7000D)

The recalled bed rails were sold nationwide from July 2015 through December 2022 for between $65 and $100.

Mobility Transfer Systems Bed Rails Linked to 3 Deaths

In June 2022, safety officials warned consumers not to use around 285,000 Adult Portable Bed Rails manufactured by Mobility Transfer Systems after 3 elderly people died. The manufacturers refused to issue a recall. The bed rails were sold between 1992 and 2022. The warning applies to 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)

272,000 Endurance® Hand Bed Rails Recalled After 2 Deaths

In December 2021, Essential Medical Supply recalled about 272,000 Endurance® Hand Bed Rails after 1 death was reported.

“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.”

One entrapment death was reported involving the Endurance Hand Bed Rail (model P1410). The death occurred in December 2012 and involved an 86-year-old man at his home in California, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The recall involves the following products:

Hand Bed Rail (model P1410)
Hand Bed Rail with Pouch (model P1410-P)
Hand Bed Rail with Floor Support (model P1411)
Hand Bed Rail with Floor Support with Pouch (model P1411-P).

Over 100,000 Carex Bed Rails Recalled After 3 Deaths

In December 2021, Compass Health Brands recalled about 104,900 Carex® Adult Portable Bed Rails after 3 deaths were reported. In each death, the bed rail was not securely attached to the bed and the victim became entrapped between their mattress and the bed rail.

The recall involves two types of bed rails that were sold between April 2014 and June 2020:

Carex brand Bed Support Rails (model P566)
Carex brand Easy Up 2-in-1 Bed Rails (model P569)

Drive Recalls 500,000 Bed Rails After 2 Deaths

In December 2021, Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare (Drive) recalled nearly 500,000 Bed Assist Handles and Bed Assist Rail or Grab Rails, which were sold between 2007 and 2021, after two deaths were reported. According to the recall:

“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.”

The recall involves the following Bed Assist Handles, Bed Rails and Grab Rails:

Bed Assist Handle: Sold on Amazon as “Home Bed Assist Handle” (Model #15064)
Bed Assist Rail with Folding Board: Sold on Amazon as “Home Bed Assist Grab Rail with Bed Board” (Model #15062)
Home Bed Assist Handle: Sold on Amazon as Home Bed Assist Handle (Model #RTL15073)
Home Bed Assist Handle: Sold on Amazon as Adjustable Height Home Bed Assist Handle (Model #RTL15063-ADJ)

Bed Handles Recalled After 3 Deaths

May 20, 2014 — The CPSC has announced a recall for 113,000 bed handles after they were linked to three deaths. The recall comes almost exactly three years after the consumer-advocacy group Public Citizen called for a ban on these bed handles, citing four deaths. Click here to read more.

Bed Rail Injuries

Bed rails are bars made out of metal or plastic that are placed on the side of a bed. They are intended to prevent patients from falling out of bed. They are also used to help patients pull themselves up and get out of bed.

Unfortunately, patients can be seriously injured or killed when bed rails are not installed properly or used safely. Patients can accidentally trap their head, neck, or chest between a bed rail and their mattress or the bed frame. This can cause life-threatening suffocation, strangling, or even death. Serious injuries are most likely among patients who are older, weak, or confused.

What are the risks of bed rails?

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), more than 36,000 people went to the emergency rooms with bed rail injuries between 2003 and May 2012. Of these people, 150 died.

The following risks are associated with bed rails:

If the patient is caught between rails, between a rail and a mattress, or in the opening of a rail, the patient can strangle, suffocate, and die.
Patients may attempt to climb over bed rails, which increases their risk of falling from a greater height. Head injuries from these types of falls can be life-threatening.
Serious injuries can occur when bed rails are improperly matched to a bed frame, causing a large gap between the mattress and the rail.
The rails may hinder a patient from getting out of bed or using the bathroom.

FDA Warnings for Bed Rail Injuries

Several federal agencies have issued multiple warnings about the risks of bed rails since 1995, but injuries continue to be reported. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that from January 1985 until January 2010, there were 828 reports of injuries linked to bed rails, including 493 deaths, 141 serious injuries that were non-fatal, and 194 incidents that required medical staff intervention.

In June 2000, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services published guidance for caregivers about the risks associated with bed rails:

“It is important to note that side rails present an inherent safety risk, particularly when the patient is elderly or disoriented. … The patient is at risk for entrapment, entanglement, or falling from a greater height posed by the raised side rail, with a possibility for sustaining greater injury or death than if he/she had fallen from the height of a lowered bed without raised side rails.”

Although the FDA has attempted to raise awareness about the risks of bed rails, these injuries continue to occur. In some cases, these injuries and deaths may have been preventable. If you or your loved one was injured by a defective bed rail, contact a lawyer today for more information about a potential lawsuit.

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