The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that adult portable bed handles manufactured by Bed Handles Inc. have been recalled due to entrapment and strangulation hazards. The bed handles are designed to be inserted between the mattress and box spring. When attached to an adult's bed without the use of safety retention straps, the handle can shift out away from the side of the mattress creating a dangerous gap. Three known deaths have occurred.
The recall involves those handles sold from 1994 through 2007 that do not have safety retention straps to secure the bed handle to the bed frame to prevent the handle from shifting. Recalled models include the Original Bedside Assistant ® (BA10W), the Travel Handles™ (BA11W), which is sold as a set of two bed handles, and the Adjustable Bedside Assistant ® (AJ1). The bed handles are intended to assist adults with getting in and out of bed by giving them a bar to grip. Bed Handles Inc. and the model number are printed on a white label on the bed handles. Consumers should immediately stop using all recalled bed handles that were sold without retention straps.
As safety advocates, the attorneys at Rourke and Blumenthal LLC pride themselves on holding irresponsible manufacturers accountable when they place profits ahead of consumer safety. Manufacturers have an obligation to conduct a proper hazard analysis before making their products available for sale to the public. It should not take the deaths of three people before a dangerous product is removed from the marketplace. If you or a loved one have been injured by an unsafe product, please contact our product liability attorneys.