British mom died after bed collapsed on her neck, inquest hears

Published Oct 15, 2024  •  2 minute read

Helen Davey. Photo by Helen Davey /Instagram

A British mother of two died after a defective bed collapsed on her neck, an inquest into her death has revealed.

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The inquest into the June 7 death of Helen Davey, 39, at her home heard that gas piston ottomans, which allow a person to lift the mattress to access storage space under the bed, could pose a safety risk, reported The Guardian.

Davey, from the North Sea town of Seaham, England, became trapped between the mattress and bed frame after it collapsed on her neck due to a faulty piston. Her death was ruled accidental.

The beautician was found by her 19-year-old daughter Elizabeth. Her 11-year-old son George also lived with her.

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“I went upstairs, my mam’s bedroom door was wide open and I saw her lying on her back with her head under the bed,” her daughter said a statement to the inquest at the coroner’s court, according to the Northern Echo.

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“Her legs were bent as if she was trying to get up. I dropped everything that I was holding and tried to lift the top of the bed off her head.

“The bed was no longer a soft close and could fall heavily if it was released. It was so heavy for me to lift it up and try to pull her out. I managed to lift it up enough to use my foot to support it.

“I noticed that her face was blue with a clear indent on her neck from the frame. I managed to pull her clear. I feared that she was dead as she made no sound. I started CPR and noticed that she wasn’t breathing.”

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Medics were called but were unable to revive Davey, who died at the scene.

Police arrived later and determined that one of the two pistons was defective.

Area coroner Jeremy Chipperfield wrote to the British government and urged preventive action to ensure no more deaths occur.

“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,” he wrote in the report.

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

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