A 39-year-old British woman, Helen Davey, was tragically killed when a malfunctioning ottoman bed fell on her neck, leading to asphyxiation, according to a coroner’s report released last week. The incident occurred in June at Davey's home in northeastern England, where she operated a beauty salon.
Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield revealed that Davey was leaning over the storage area of a gas-lift ottoman bed when the mattress platform unexpectedly fell, trapping her neck against the bed's side panel. Unable to free herself, she succumbed to positional asphyxia. A defective gas-lift piston was identified as the cause of the malfunction.
Davey's daughter, Elizabeth, discovered her mother after finding the bedroom door wide open. In court, she recounted the harrowing moment: “I saw her lying on her back with her head under the bed. Her legs were bent as if she was trying to get up.” Elizabeth attempted to lift the heavy bed off her mother but struggled with its weight. After managing to support it with her foot, she noticed her mother’s face had turned blue, with an indentation on her neck from the frame. Despite performing CPR, Elizabeth realized her mother was unresponsive.
In his report, Chipperfield expressed concern about the risks associated with gas piston bed mechanisms, warning that unless action is taken, future deaths may occur. He urged Britain's business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, to address this safety issue.
Data from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) highlighted the dangers associated with beds, revealing that in 2022 alone, 147 individuals in the UK died from falling out of bed, while another 18 died from accidental suffocation or strangulation.
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