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Bed Handles Inc. Reannounces Recall of Adult Portable Bed Handles Due to Serious Entrapment and Strangulation Hazards

Recall has been updated. Additional death reported.

  • Bedside Assistant model BA10W
  • Label on Bedside Assistant model BA10W
  • Bedside Assistant model BA11W
  • Label on Bedside Assistant model BA11W
  • Adjustable bed handle model AJ1
  • Label on Adjustable bed handle model AJ1
  • Photo on bed handle AJ1 packaging
  • Photo on bed handle BA11W packaging
Name of Product:
Portable bed handles
Hazard:

When attached to an adult's bed without the use of safety retention straps, the handle can shift out of place, creating a dangerous gap between the bed handle and the side of the mattress. This poses a serious risk of entrapment, strangulation and death.

Remedy:
Repair
Recall Date:
September 17, 2015
Consumer Contact

Bed Handles Inc. at 800-725-6903 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or online at http://bedhandles.com/ and click on Recall Information at the bottom of the page for more information.

Recall Details

Description:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Bed Handles Inc., of Blue Springs, Mo., are reannouncing the voluntary recall of about 113,000 adult portable bed handles.  When attached to an adult's bed without the use of safety retention straps, a handle can shift out of place creating a dangerous gap between the bed handle and the side of the mattress. This poses a serious risk of entrapment, strangulation and death.

 

Three women died after becoming entrapped between the mattress and the bed handles. They include an elderly woman, age unknown, who died in an Edina, Minn. assisted living facility; a 41-year-old disabled woman who died in a Renton, Wash. adult family home; and an 81-year-old woman who died in a Vancouver, Wash. managed care facility.  No additional deaths of injuries have been reported.

 

The recall involves adult portable bed handles sold by Bed Handles, Inc. from 1994 through 2007 that do not have safety retention straps to secure the bed handle to the bed frame to keep the bed handle from shifting out of place and creating a dangerous gap.  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 L-shaped bed handles are made out of ? inch tubular steel, measure 20 inches wide, 16 to 20 inches tall and have 3 ft. poles that extend under the mattress. The Original Bedside Assistant® (BA10W) and the Travel Handles™ (BA11W) have a white handle with white poles that go under the mattress. The Adjustable Bedside Assistant® (AJ1) is gold in color and has a black cushioned foam handle. 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.

 

            They were sold by home health care stores, drug stores and medical equipment stores nationwide and in home and health care catalogs from January 1994 through December 2007 for about $100.  They were manufactured in the United States.

 

            Consumers should immediately stop using all recalled bed handles that were sold without safety retention straps. Contact Bed Handles, Inc. for free safety retention straps to secure the bed handle to the bed frame, new assembly and installation instructions for models BA10W, BA11W and AJ1 and a warning label to attach to the bed handles.  The bed handles should be used only with the safety retention straps securely in place attaching the bed handle to the bed frame in order to prevent a gap.

 

            Contact Bed Handles Inc. at 800-725-6903 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or online at http://bedhandles.com/recall.html.

 

            The previous recall was announced on May 20, 2014.

Recall number:
15-245

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About the U.S. CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years.

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