ORLANDO, Fla. (Legal Newsline) — A Florida woman claims the makers of a bed rail failed to issue a recall of the dangerous product, which resulted in her child becoming lodged between the rails and the bed and suffering asphyxiation.
Courtney Erickson, as personal representative of the Estate of Ronald Baker III, a deceased minor, filed a complaint Aug. 25 in Orange County Circut Court against Essential Medical Supply Inc., alleging strict liability and wrongful death.
According to the plaintiff's complaint, her family was gathered at her mother's home in Largo on Dec. 24, 2021. She alleges that her son Ronald Baker III was placed in a bed that had an Endurance Hand Bed Rail.
She claims her son was discovered lodged between the bed and hand rails and died from asphyxiation. The plaintiff further claims that prior to her son's death, there was at least one other death associated with the bed rails due to entrapment and that the defendant was aware of the safety concerns.
She alleges the hand bed rail was designed without adequate safety systems to prevent the gap between the bed and the rail. The plaintiff also alleges that the defendant knew or should have known of the risk of entrapment and the risk of death yet failed to effectively issue a recall of the bed rails.
The plaintiff seeks monetary relief of more than $100,000, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. She is represented by Ramon Castillo of Rubenstein Law PA in Orlando.