Bunk Bed Recall and Safety Information to Avoid Injuries

Many toddlers and school-age children enjoy bunk beds -  top bunk or bottom bunk it is all your child's preference.  While bunk beds can be fun for many kids they can also be a death trap if they are not properly put together or were improperly manufactured. 

Many serious injuries occur in homes across the nation every year because of the dangers of bunk beds.  In fact a study done in 2008 showed that 36,000 children go to the emergency room every year for injuries associated with entrapment in areas of the bunk bud, collapsing bunk beds and other bunk bed injuries.  The most common injuries associated with bunk beds were cuts, bruises and fractures.  An even more disturbing study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio revealed that between the years of 1990 and 2005 more than 573,000 injuries occurred in children from infants to age 21.  All of the injuries included in this study were injuries that were bad enough to send the children to the ER. 

While about three-quarters of the accidents in the studies were related to children falling from the bunk beds the other quarter of the children injured from bunk bed related incidents were caused by bunk beds collapsing and by children becoming entrapped in openings in the bunk bed's structure. 

A recent bunk bed recall which was issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Big Lots Stores, Inc., the manufacturer of the recalled bunk beds, late last week.  Over 20,000 bunk beds are being recalled due to the mattress support slats and side support railings cracking or breaking creating the risk of the bunk beds collapsing endangering the child on both the top bunk and the bottom bunk.  Risks for the child on the top bunk include falling and injuring themselves; the danger for the child on the bottom bunk would be if the top bunk breaks it can fall on the child in the bottom bunk or if the bottom bunk breaks it can cause the child to fall also.  So far Big Lots has reported 14 reports of the recalled bunk beds cracking and breaking of which four children were injured.  The bunk beds being recalled were sold between May 2008 and February 2009 in stores nationwide for about $300.  If you are unsure if your bunk bed was part of this recall or not you can check for a stick on the interior panel of the headboard or foot board.  If your the sticker on your child's bunk bed  is WP-9108-1 or WP-9108-2 contact Big Lots immediately to discuss what you can do to repair your child's defective bunk bed.  This bed should not be used until the product is either replaced or repaired. 

While you can not predict whether or not your child's bedroom furniture will be involved in a recall due to being manufactured poorly or due to a manufacturer defect there are other guidelines that you can follow to keep your children safe from bunk bed injuries:

• Make sure there are rails on both sides of the top bunk.  This will help your child remain safe while they are sleeping, especially if they move around a lot in their sleep.  You always want to make sure there is a rail on both sides even if one side of the bed is against the wall.
• Make sure the guardrails are no more than 3 1/2 inches wide.  Guardrails that have too wide of a space in them can create the risk of entrapment or strangulation. 
• Make sure the bunk bed ladders are sturdy and secure. 
  
• Do not place the bunk bed next to other furniture, lamps or ceiling fans.  While this may not be of concern to parents who have older children who use bunk beds it is a major concern that parent of younger children should be aware of.  If you place furniture too close to a young child's bunk bed they may get curious and try to climb from one piece of bedroom furniture to another and cause the furniture to fall and cause an injury to your child.
• Put the proper size mattress in the bunk bed.
• Do not let children younger than 6 years old sleep in the bunk bed.  According to the CPSC you should not allow a child under the age of 6 years old to sleep in the top bunk due to the child not being able to completely comprehend the dangers associated with sleeping on the top bunk. 
• Make sure your children understand that the bunk beds are not to be played on. 
• Keep the bolts and screws tight.  Periodically check the bolts and screws on the bunk bed to make sure they are properly tightened.
• Always keep an eye out for bunk bed recalls.  While you can control certain things such as making sure the guardrails are the right width and making sure the bunk bed ladders seem sturdy you can not always see the hidden issues such as a manufacturer's defect.  You can check for recent recalls at www.cpsc.com.

As a parent we know you will do everything you can to help keep your child safe and make sure that your child's bunk bed is safe but sometimes the unthinkable happens and mistakes and defects created by a products manufacturer causes injury.  If your child has suffered an injury from a defective child's furniture manufacturer you can contact the law firm of Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola at 718.979.4300.  Frank J. Dito Jr., Staten Island personal injury attorney, will be able to assist you with your child's injury case against the product's manufacturer.