ST. LOUIS — A Godfrey, Illinois, woman is suing Sleep Number and the manufacturer of the bed, claiming one of the company’s beds pinned her mother to a wall for two days, eventually leading to her death.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Angela Moan, the surviving daughter of Rosalind Walker. Sleep Number and the manufacturer Leggett & Platt are named in the suit, which was filed in the state of Missouri.
According to the lawsuit, Walker purchased the bed in 2014 in Brentwood, Missouri, and had a 25-year warranty. It was later delivered to Walker’s home in Godfrey, Illinois.
The lawsuit said on Mar. 1, 2023, the bed’s adjustable foundation was in a raised position. Walker was between the raised Sleep Number bed and the wall of her bedroom.
The lawsuit said the bed lowered without warning, trapping Walker between the bed and the wall for two days. On March 3, emergency responders freed Walker and she was taken to the hospital.
The suit said she was transferred to a rehabilitation center and then brought home on hospice, claiming she suffered the entire time until she died on Apr. 3, 2023.
The lawsuit is seeking compensation from Sleep Number for Walker’s suffering and injuries, medical bills and “loss of her society.” It alleged Sleep Number or Legget & Platt “designed and sold a Sleep Number bed that did not have adequate instructions or cautionary language in the instructions or on the bed, alerting Mrs. Walker not to go between the bed and the wall as she could be trapped.”
The suit also alleged the companies “designed and sold a Sleep Number bed that did not have an adequate audible warning alerting Mrs. Walker it was declining” and that the bed “did not have an appropriate release mechanism which would have allowed Mrs. Walker to free herself from the trapped position.”
A spokesperson for Sleep Number said they could not comment on pending litigation due to company policy.
Ted Gianaris, the lawyer representing Moan said Tuesday night “it was a tragic loss. Mrs. Walker was trapped for two days and then she died. Something as common as an adjustable bed should not trap an elderly person. We look forward to hearing from Sleep Number about why it did not sell a safer bed.”
Contact Gianaris Trial Lawyers at 618-681-9999 or visit lawforpeople.com for more information.
