Medline recalls 1.5 million adult bed rails following 2 reports of entrapment deaths

NEW YORK (AP) — 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 notes.

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 a Health Canada announcement. No injuries or incidents in Canada were reported to Medline as of Monday, Health Canada said.

Medline said in a statement that it understands “that in the instances of reported entrapment deaths associated with the bed assist bars, the bed rails were not securely attached to the bed and the users became entrapped between the rail and mattress.”

The company based in Northfield, Illinois, said it encourages all customers to read warnings and instructions of its products. Still, it said it’s important for impacted customers to participate in this recall — noting that it had worked closely with the CPSC and “fully supports the agency’s commitment to consumer safety.”

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.