Bunkbed Recall

Big Lots Metal Futon Bunk Beds

Child’s Entrapment Death Prompts Big Lots Recall of Metal Futon Bunk Beds
WASHINGTON, D.C. –

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Big Lots, of Columbus, Ohio, is voluntarily recalling about 30,000 metal futon bunk beds.

Children behind the futon or in the ladder area of the bunk bed can get entrapped when the futon and its metal frame are lowered from the seated to the flat position. This is what happened to a three-year old Burlington, Iowa boy who died when he became entrapped at the head and neck in the recalled bunk bed in March of 2010. The weight of the futon’s metal frame prevented the child from breathing and escaping. CPR was administered, but the child died at the hospital due to compression asphyxiation.

The bunk beds have an additional hazard. The space between the last rung on the bunk bed’s ladder and the futon mattress is too small, which can allow a child’s body to pass through, but not the head, posing a head and neck entrapment hazard. [Press release continued at U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]

For additional information, contact Big Lots toll-free at (866) 244-5687 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, e-mail the firm at talk2us@biglots.com or visit the firm’s website www.biglots.com