A 39-year-old British woman, Helen Davey, died in June after a malfunctioning ottoman bed fell on her neck, causing asphyxia. The incident has prompted a coroner to issue a warning about the potential dangers of these popular beds, CNN reports.
Davey, who ran a beauty salon in northeastern England, was found deceased by her daughter, Elizabeth. According to a coroner’s report released last week, Davey was leaning over the storage area of her ottoman bed when the mattress platform unexpectedly fell, trapping her neck against the bed frame.
Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield determined that the cause of death was positional asphyxia and that a defective gas-lift piston in the bed was responsible for the malfunction.
Ottoman beds, which feature a base that can be raised to access storage space, are increasingly popular for their space-saving design. However, this incident highlights the potential dangers associated with these beds, particularly the risk of failure in the gas-lift mechanisms.
