Johnathan Walker:Medline recalls 1.5 million bed rails linked to deaths of 2 women

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Medical supply company Medline Industries is recalling some 1.5 million portable adult bed rails across the U.S. and Canada, following two reports of entrapment deaths associated with the products.

The recall impacts 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 can become entrapped within the bed rail itself or between the product and the side of a mattress when it's attached to a bed.

This poses "a serious entrapment hazard and risk of death by asphyxiation," the CPSC noted.

To date, the Commission added, Medline has received two reports of entrapment deaths associated with the recalled Bed Assist Bars in the U.S — involving a 76-year-old woman who died in an Iowa senior nursing facility in 2019 and a 87-year-old woman who died at a South Carolina residential care facility in 2023.

One additional injury in the U.S. has also been reported, according to Health Canada's Thursday announcement. No injuries or incidents in Canada were reported to Medline as of Monday, Health Canada noted.

Adult portable bed rails have been the subject of several recalls over the years in response to reports of injuries and deaths linked to the products marketed as safety devices. 

An estimated 69,000 adults were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for rail-related injuries from 2003 to 2019, according to the CPSC. Among those incidents, 260 cases involved adult portable bed rails, including 247 fatalities, according to a July 2020 CPSC briefing paper.

The Fed agency in 2023 issued mandatory safety standards aimed at reducing the risk of entrapment and other potential fatal injuries that could occur as a result of use of the products. 

Medline sold about 1.5 million of the now-recalled Bed Assist Bars from July 2009 through March 2024 in the U.S. — through its own websites and major retailers online, including Amazon and Walmart. They cost between $32 and $64. More than 5,500 were additionally sold in Canada between February 2013 and March 2024.

The recalled bed rails, which were manufactured in China, can be identified by two model numbers: MDS6800BA and MDS6800BAH.

The CPSC and Health Canada urges consumers in possession of these products to stop using them immediately — and contact Medline to request a refund.

The Associated Press reached out to Northfield, Illinois-based Medline for statement Thursday.

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