Deaths have occurred when children became suspended by the head in these spaces and strangled. Guardrails which are attached to the bed by hooks and remain in place by their own weight can dislodge, allowing a child to become entrapped under the guardrail or fall. Most bunk beds are used with one side located against a wall and are sold with only one guardrail for the upper bunk to prevent falls from the side away from the wall. Deaths have occurred when very young children ratted off the bed and became entrapped between the wall and the side of the bed not having a guardrail. This hazard is not unique to bunk beds.
Regular beds can present the same hazard.
Dislodgement of mattress foundation - The mattress foundation an some bunk beds merely rests on small ledges attached to the bedframe. They can dislodge, particularly if a child, underneath the bunk, pushes or kicks upwards on the mattress. Suffocation deaths have occurred when mattress foundations fell on children playing on the floor or occupying the lowerbunk. Fasten additional cross ties underneath the mattress foundation of both beds. Strangulation deaths have occurred when children fell through openings created between the mattress and headboard or footboard when a regular length mattress was used in an extra long bed frame.