Helen Davey, a 39-year-old woman from Seaham, England, died in a tragic accident this past June when a defective gas-lift bed collapsed on her, according to a coroner’s findings. The bed, which uses hydraulics to lift a mattress platform for access to storage space below, malfunctioned while Davey was leaning into it, trapping her neck against the frame and causing positional asphyxia. The newly released report has highlighted the danger posed by faulty components in such furniture.
The incident occurred when one of the two gas-lift pistons, which supports the mattress platform, failed, causing the bed to suddenly descend as Davey was leaning over the storage area. “The deceased was leaning over the storage area of an Ottoman-styled ‘gas-lift bed’ when the mattress platform descended unexpectedly, trapping her neck against the upper surface of the side panel of the bed’s base,” wrote coroner Jeremy Chipperfield in the Prevention of Future Deaths Report, which was sent to the Department for Business and Trade.
The coroner’s report emphasized that Davey was unable to free herself and died as a result of the accident. Davey’s daughter, Elizabeth, discovered the distressing scene when she returned home, recalling the moment in a statement during the coroner’s inquest. “I went upstairs, my mam’s bedroom door was wide open, and I saw her lying on her back with her head under the bed,” Elizabeth recounted, as reported by the Northern Echo. “Her legs were bent as if she was trying to get up.”
Elizabeth described her efforts to lift the bed with her foot to free her mother, noting that the bed was heavy and difficult to move. She observed that Davey’s face had turned blue, and the frame left an indentation on her neck, signaling the severity of the incident.
The bed’s malfunction has raised questions about the safety of similar gas-lift furniture. Coroner Chipperfield’s findings noted the risk of such defects and called for a review to prevent similar incidents in the future. The coroner’s report was sent to the UK’s Department for Business and Trade to address the potential hazards posed by these products.
The incident has left a deep impact on Davey’s family and community, who remember her as a loving and caring mother. In the wake of this tragedy, safety concerns surrounding the use of hydraulic mechanisms in household furniture have become a subject of scrutiny, with calls for manufacturers to ensure stringent quality control to prevent further loss of life.