The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers to stop using 285,000 adult portable bed rails from Mobility Transfer Systems and Metal Tubing USA Inc. because they create an entrapment hazard and pose a risk of serious injury or death to users.
CPSC’s warning applies to 10 models of bed rails manufactured by and sold by Mobility Transfer Systems from 1992 to 2021 and by Metal Tubing USA Inc. from 2021 and 2022. CPSC is urging consumers to immediately stop using, disassemble, and dispose of the following bed rail 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)
The name, Mobility Transfer Systems, and the model number are printed on a label located on the grip handle of the bed rails.
CPSC evaluated the bed rails and found that consumers can become entrapped between the bed rail and mattress, or within portions of the bed rail itself, leading to asphyxia. At least three people have died after becoming entrapped in one model of the bed rails. They include a 78-year-old woman in a Michigan assisted living facility in 2006, an 85-year-old man in an Oklahoma nursing home in 2007, and a 90-year-old disabled woman in California in 2013.
CPSC also called on consumers to report any incidents related to the beds online at www.SaferProducts.gov.
CPSC reported that neither company has agreed to recall the bed rails and to offer a remedy to consumers, and that the agency is assessing possible future action in the matter.
Entrapment and asphyxia dangers related to adult portable bed rails are ongoing. In April 2021, CPSC warned consumers to immediately stop using three models manufactured by Bed Handles Inc. — AJ1, BA10W and BA11W — because they can create an entrapment hazard and pose a risk of asphyxia to users.