Background: A Sleep Number store in Brentwood, Mo. (Google Maps); Inset: Rosalind “Roz” Walker (Elias Kallal and Schaaf Funeral Home)
An Illinois woman has sued the maker of Sleep Number beds after her elderly mother suffered injuries when a bed malfunctioned and left her trapped. She later died from her injuries.
Rosalind “Roz” Walker, 80, became the proud owner of a Sleep Number bed back in 2014. Nearly 10 years after that purchase, on March 1, 2023, Walker had the head of the bed in a “raised position,” according to the lawsuit. When Walker walked between the raised bed and the wall behind it, the bed “lowered without warning,” trapping her between the bed and the wall — for two days.
After first responders freed Walker on March 3, 2023, she was taken to the hospital and treated for unspecified injuries. She was then transferred to a rehabilitation center and then hospice care in her home. The suit stated that Walker “suffered the entire time until she died on April 3, 2023.”
Walker’s daughter Angela Moan filed the lawsuit on Dec. 10 in St. Louis County where the bed had originally been purchased before it was delivered to Walker’s home in Godfrey, Illinois. The lawsuit includes accusations of negligence that Sleep Number and the bed’s manufacturer, Leggett & Platt, Inc., “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 bed also reportedly operated on a timer and without a manual override that would have made it possible for Walker to free herself from being trapped. Moan also cited the lack of an audible warning that the head of the bed was going to lower itself.
Moan asked for compensation for Walker’s “predeath suffering and injuries, for the related medical bills” and $25,000 for the breach of the bed’s 25-year warranty, calling the bed “a defective product.” Moan’s attorneys also asked for a jury trial.
In a statement provided to KMOV, a local CBS affiliate, Sleep Number said they are “aware of the recent lawsuit filed against the company and Leggett and Platt, the manufacturer of its adjustable base. The suit alleges that a malfunctioning adjustable base purchased in 2014 was a contributing factor in the death of Rosalind Walker. We understand that this incident is alleged to have occurred in March 2023; we were notified of the alleged incident after the lawsuit was filed yesterday, December 10,” the statement said. “We extend our sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Walker for their tragic loss. Currently, our legal team is reviewing the lawsuit. Sleep Number stands by the design and safety of its products and is complying with any necessary inquiries or actions.”
Law & Crime reached out to Sleep Number as well as Moan’s attorneys but did not receive an immediate response.
