Today, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission) issued a record recall of almost 95,000 units of two models of adult portable bed rails (APBRs). These products violate the required safety standards. The details of that recall can be found here. This recall, in addition to another recent APBR product safety warning, is particularly timely because May is Older Americans Month. Focusing on the safety of older Americans has been a priority of mine since I came to the Commission four and a half years ago.

This issue is personal. My parents suffered from dementia. I know the importance of APBRs to ensure a loved one is comfortably positioned in a bed while protecting them from falling. This is why the Commission worked on a standard to improve the safety of these products. I am proud of the Commission’s ongoing work to recall violative products to reduce the likelihood of an entrapment tragedy. I want to thank our staff for their work on this issue.

The Commission’s work to protect older Americans reaches beyond bed rail safety. The Commission’s 2024 Report of Senior Injuries and Deaths Associated with Consumer Products reported roughly 3.5 million injuries compared to 3.2 million such injuries in 2018. The number of senior fatalities associated with consumer products increased from an estimated 34,000 in 2018 to more than 43,000 in 2023, with falls as the most common cause of these fatalities.

The full report can be found on the CPSC website and at Senior Injuries and Deaths Associated with Consumer Products: 2024 Report | CPSC.gov.

The costs, both societal and more importantly for families, can be enormous. As I have shared previously, my family has seen firsthand how a senior injury can change lives forever. In 2020, my mother-in-law had a major head injury after an in-home fall. While she survived the initial trauma, she has never fully recovered and requires significant ongoing treatment and in-home care that has changed our lives forever. Unfortunately, as the Commission’s report describes, our story is not unique.

I will continue to prioritize senior safety. I look forward to working with stakeholders to reduce consumer hazards for seniors and increase awareness regarding senior injury risk. To that end, I am including a link to CPSC’s Older Adult Safety Site, to spread the word and help other families avoid similar tragedies.

*The views expressed in this statement are those of Commissioner Dziak and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission.