Bunk Bed Child Entrapment Safety Analysis

On May 22, 2018, a two-year-old boy became trapped between the bunk bed upper bunk and the top rung of the ladder at his residence in Ohio. Information collected included geometry data acquired of the subject bunk bed, physical characteristics of the child, medical injury data, and photographs of the child.

Testing and Analysis

Testing and analysis were performed using traditional scientific methods, including physical testing with an anthropomorphic child dummy and standardized bunk bed test probes. Physical testing determined that the bunk bed does not comply with ASTM F1427-13 requirements with respect to ladder repositioning or tilting, and complete passage of the test wedge between the ladder top step and upper bunk boundary. The flexibility of the ladder brackets and the gap between the brackets and the bed frame allowed the ladder to lift/tilt, which allowed passage of the wedge block.

Recall

On December 22, 2021, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recall of the analyzed bunk beds with angled ladders due to serious entrapment and strangulation hazards. The metal hook fastening the ladder to the top bunk bed frame can move away or detach from the bed frame when the ladder is lifted, causing the gap between the ladder step and bed frame to open wider than 3.5 inches, posing serious entrapment and strangulation hazards. Following the incident, a corrective action plan was developed for a retrofit ladder bracket design to address the repositioning/tilting of the ladder.