Medical supply company Medline Industries is recalling approximately 1.5 million adult portable bed rails in the U.S. and Canada after two reports of entrapment deaths linked to the products.
The recall affects two models of Medline’s ‘Bed Assist Bars’. According to a Thursday announcement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, users of these bed rails could become trapped in the bed rail itself or between the product and the side of a mattress when it is attached to a bed.
This poses “a serious entrapment hazard and risk of death from suffocation,” the CPSC noted.
To date, the Commission added, Medline has received two reports of entrapment deaths linked to the recalled Bed Assist Bars in the US – involving a 76-year-old woman who died in 2019 at a senior nursing facility in Iowa , and an 87-year-old woman who died in 2023 at an assisted living facility in South Carolina.
One additional injury was also reported in the U.S., according to Thursday’s Health Canada announcement. No injuries or incidents in Canada were reported to Medline on Monday, Health Canada said.
Commission on Consumer Product Safety
Portable bed rails for adults are the trend subject to several recalls over the years following reports of injuries and deaths associated with the products marketed as safety features.
According to the CPSC, an estimated 69,000 adults were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for rail-related injuries between 2003 and 2019. Among these incidents, 260 cases involved adult portable bed rails, including 247 fatalities, according to a July 2020 CPSC briefing document.
The Fed agency issued mandatory safety standards in 2023 aimed at reducing the risk of crushing and other potential fatal injuries that may occur as a result of using the products.
Medline sold approximately 1.5 million of the now recalled Bed Assist Bars in the U.S. from July 2009 through March 2024 – through its own websites and major online retailers including Amazon and Walmart. They cost between $32 and $64. Moreover, more than 5,500 were sold in Canada between February 2013 and March 2024.
The recalled side rails, which were manufactured in China, are identified by two model numbers: MDS6800BA and MDS6800BAH.
Commission on Consumer Product Safety
The CPSC and Health Canada urge consumers in possession of these products to immediately stop using them – and contact Medline to request a refund.
The Associated Press contacted Northfield, Illinois-based Medline for a statement on Thursday.
