FDA Warns Medline Electric Hospital Beds Can Catch Fire After Two Deaths
Sixteen more users were seriously injured. The Illinois supplier tells customers to stop using the beds unless modified, but says they can still be used per its instructions.
The Food and Drug Administration is warning that electric hospital beds from medical equipment supplier Medline can pose a fire hazard, after two people died and another 16 users were seriously injured.
Medline, based in Northfield, Illinois, issued an 'urgent' safety notice this week instructing customers to discontinue using its beds and other products without first modifying them. The company's hospital beds use built-in electric motors and remote controls that an operator can use to adjust a patient's position for treatment.
Medline said that under certain conditions, including when motors or other components jam, the beds' electrical components can overheat, leading to a fire. The FDA tied the warning to the two deaths and 16 serious injuries.
In an October 24 press release, the company recommended modifications for customers still using the beds. A Medline spokesperson told CBS News that customers can continue to use its products in accordance with the company's instructions. The spokesperson added that Medline will provide users with additional information about any affected products in the future.
The two messages sit uneasily together: an urgent notice to stop using the beds without modification, and a statement that customers may keep using them as directed. For hospitals, nursing homes and families with a bed at home, the practical question is whether their bed has been modified and whether it is covered by the notice.
Medline, which supplies equipment to health care providers, did not say in the information available how many beds are affected. The FDA warning and the company notice both focus on the same failure: components that jam and then overheat.
Electric beds are standard in hospitals and long-term care, where patients are often unable to move on their own. A fire in that setting is especially dangerous because residents may be unable to get out of bed or leave a room quickly, and staff may need time to move them.
The company is based in Northfield, Illinois, and its notice was issued as an urgent safety communication to customers rather than as a conventional product pull. Families who rent or own one of its electric beds at home, as well as nursing homes and hospitals, are among those who may need to check their equipment against the company's instructions.
Medline customers who need more information can contact the company at 800-950-0128, option 7, the number listed in its notice. The FDA has not said whether it will pursue further action.
Facilities that use the equipment will need to check which beds they own, confirm whether the recommended modifications have been made, and decide whether to pull any unmodified units from service while the company supplies further details.
