Woman dies after accident involving ‘defective’ Ottoman bed

A “defective” Ottoman-style bed caused the death of a woman after it fell and trapped her, according to a coroner’s report.

Helen Davey, 39, was leaning over the bed’s storage area when its gas-lifted section came down.

According to a coroner’s report, her neck became trapped against the bed’s base, and she was unable to free herself and died from asphyxia at her home in Seaham, County Durham.

The beautician was reportedly found lying on her back with her head under the bed by her daughter Elizabeth, who tried to free her, according to The Northern Echo.

Jeremy Chipperfield, a coroner in Durham and Darlington, ruled at an inquest earlier this month at Crook Coroners’ Court, that Ms Davey’s death was an accident.

To help prevent future deaths, coroners can write reports urging other authorities to consider taking action.

In a report to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and the Office of Product Safety and Standards, Mr Chipperfield said one of two gas pistons used for lifting Ms Davey’s bed was “defective”.

“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,” the coroner wrote.

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“Unable to free herself, she died of positional asphyxia. One of the two gas-lift pistons was defective.”

He said unless action is taken, there is a risk that future deaths could occur.

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“In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action,” he wrote.

Ms Davey was described by her father during the inquest as “very independent, a strong individual with strong opinions [who was] fiercely loyal”, The Northern Echo reported.

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