Following reports of two deaths and 16 serious injuries, Medline has urged customers to modify its electric hospital beds before continuing to use them.
Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that the beds can pose a fire hazard.
Here's what to know
To address the safety concerns, Medline has released a set of modification instructions, which the company said would make its products safe to use.
However, the company advised customers to cease using the beds and other Medline products in the absence of these modifications, CBS News reported.
Among the concerns were the potential for a jammed motor or other stuck component to cause the bed to overheat, increasing the risk of fire, Medline said. The beds use built-in motors and remote controls to reposition patients for treatment.
"Overheating of the bed's electrical components may progress to smoking, sparking, melting, burning, and/or fire," the FDA alert warned, per CBS News.
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Citing Medline's warning, CBS News reported that injury or death could result from entrapment or asphyxiation involving the beds' accessories. Medline also announced that it will be exiting the medical-bed market altogether.
Medline "is executing a voluntary field action to initiate a product removal, discontinuation and market exit of all Medline Brand beds, including homecare beds, bariatric beds and long-term care beds and their associated pendants, accessories, replacement parts and bed-containing order packages," the company said in a statement.
Medline is a publicly traded business valued at $43 billion, according to CBS News.
What should customers do?
Bed rails, mattresses, and bed kits were among the categories covered by Medline's instruction to vendors to stop selling its branded beds and related equipment.
Existing customers may continue using the products if they follow Medline's modification instructions, a company spokesperson told CBS News. For more information, customers can call Medline at 800-950-0128 and select option 7.
Where can I learn more?
Medical beds have hardly been the only products to be the subject of serious safety alerts.
• A California lawsuit alleged that Graco baby swings can suddenly speed up, putting infants at risk.
• The FDA recalled saline bags in 14 states over possible fiberglass contamination.
• An Indian panel sought action after a hospital admitted careless handling of treatment in a child's snakebite death.
• Three wellness injectables were recalled nationwide over endotoxin risk, potentially causing shock or death.
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