On May 22, 2018, a two-year-old boy became trapped between the bunk bed upper bunk and the top rung of the ladder at his residence in Ohio.
Our Approach
Information collected included geometry data acquired of the subject bunk bed, physical characteristics of the child, medical injury data, and photographs of the child.
Testing and analysis were performed using traditional scientific methods, including physical testing with an anthropomorphic child dummy and standardized bunk bed test probes.
Physical testing determined that the bunk bed does not comply with ASTM F1427-13 requirements with respect to ladder repositioning or tilting, and complete passage of the test wedge between the ladder top step and upper bunk boundary.
The flexibility of the ladder brackets and the gap between the brackets and the bed frame allowed the ladder to lift/tilt, which allowed passage of the wedge block.
Services Utilized
Expertise Utilized
The Outcome
Following the incident, a corrective action plan was developed for a retrofit ladder bracket design to address the repositioning/tilting of the ladder.
