Feds Warn Against Bed Rails, Recall 222,000 Units Linked to Suffocation Death

Federal regulators said the devices have the potential of trapping users between the rail and the mattress.

An example of a Medical King Bed Assist Rail, one of the adult bed rails being recalled due to a risk of death by asphyxiation. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP

Federal product-safety regulators have issued an urgent warning about adult portable bed rails, saying that those devices are linked to 18 cases of suffocation deaths since 2021.

In the alert sent out on Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said Medical King, based in Brooklyn, New York, is recalling about 220,000 adult portable bed rails that could potentially trap users either within the rail or between the rail and the mattress.