Big Lots Recalls Futon Bunk Beds After Child's Death

Discount retailer Big Lots recalled 30,000 metal futon bunk beds after a child suffocated and died after getting trapped in the frame, Patti Davis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said Thursday.

Davis said children who are behind the futon or in the area of the bed where the ladder is can get stuck when the futon is lowered to the flat position for use as a bed. On March 14, 2010, a Burlington, Iowa, boy died after his head got stuck in the futon's metal frame. The agency reported that the boy died at the hospital of compression asphyxiation.

An additional safety hazard with the beds is that the space between the last ladder rung and the futon mattress is too small and a child's head could get stuck in that space, the CPSC said in a statement.