Quebec coroner urges Canada to recall Murphy beds without safeguards after death of 5-year-old – CBC

Coroner wants all beds to be equipped with locking device

Sep 19, 2024

A Quebec coroner is urging Canada to remove all Murphy beds lacking proper safeguards from the market and recommending that only those that comply with international safety standards be sold.

Donald Nicole made 11 recommendations in a coroner’s report published Thursday that looked into the death of a five-year-old boy after a wall bed, also known as a Murphy bed, suddenly opened and came crashing down on him.

The incident occurred on Jan. 12 during a family vacation from Massachusetts to the Village Vacances Valcartier water park resort in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Que.

Anthony Putnam and his parents had just checked into their room at Hôtel Valcartier on the site of the resort. His father was parking their car and his mother was putting away their belongings while the boy played on a couch that sat immediately under the room’s Murphy bed.

According to the coroner’s report, around 4:30 p.m., the boy grabbed a pair of vertical handles behind the couch and a queen-sized bed suddenly opened — its full weight coming down hard on his head.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-coroner-murphy-bed-death-1.7327710