Quebec Coroner Calls for Better Wall Bed Safeguards

A Quebec coroner wants all wall beds in Canada that don’t have proper safeguards to be removed from the market.

This is just one of 11 recommendations Donald Nicole made in a coroner’s report that was published Sept. 19. The report looked into the death of a five-year-old boy after he sustained serious injuries from a vertical fold-down bed, also known as a wall bed, that unexpectedly opened and crashed down on him.

The boy and his family were vacationing at Village Vacances Valcartier water park resort north of Quebec City at the time of the incident Jan. 12.

In Nicole’s report, he also recommends that only wall beds that comply with ISO 10131 international safety standard be sold. This is currently not mandatory in Canada.

The hotel wall bed involved in the accident was not equipped with a locking mechanism to prevent it from opening due to spring failure, nor did it comply with the international safety standard.

The hotel has since added a restraint device to all of its wall beds to prevent them from opening suddenly.

The wall beds are manufactured by Les meubles Boff Inc. and bought from Matelas Dauphin.

Foldaway beds that do not comply with the safety standard have been linked to at least two other deaths in Canada in the last 20 years, reports CBC. On each occasion, coroners have requested that the safety standard be applied.