Kyra Hall
A ‘loving mother’ of two has been killed after a bed malfunctioned and fell on her neck.
Helen Davey, 39, has died in a freak accident with a faulty Ottoman bed, and a coroner has now issued a warning.
An ottoman is a bed with a built-in storage compartment that is accessible by lifting the top of the bed.
Neighbors have reported that Davey was found by Elizabeth her 19-year-old daughter, who goes by Betty. The mother also has a son, George, age 11.
The tragedy happened at her home in Seaham, County Durham, UK on June 7. The mother also has a son, George, age 11.
Following the incident, Betty posted on Facebook that she and her sibling were struggling to ‘process what had happened.’
The 19-year-old writes: “No words would ever describe how we are feeling. I can’t even begin to process that it’s real and you’re not just going to walk through the door.
“Mine and George’s best friend from day one, I will always wish we had more time together and that you were still by our side supporting us through everything as always.”
Betty continues: ‘I hope you know how much I love you and that I’d do anything for one more cuddle. Until we meet again my angel.”
The mother of two ran her own aesthetics and beauty clinic ‘All Dolled Up,’ from her home in Seaham, where the heartbreaking accident occurred.
One neighbor told the Daily Mail that they were questioned by detectives after the tragedy. He also said that Betty had not returned back to the home since the night of the accident.
The neighbor said: ‘We didn’t know anything until the police and ambulance turned up,”
“They told us there had been an accident and Helen had been caught in a position where she couldn’t breathe. That’s all they told us.”
He continued: “I heard a rumor that an Ottoman bed had come down on her. It mustn’t have been working properly because they spring up and down.
“The daughter went out for a couple of hours and when she came back, she must have found her. It’s a tragedy.”
Betty told the court: “I went upstairs, my mam’s bedroom door was wide open, and I saw her lying on her back with her head under the bed, I dropped everything that I was holding and tried to lift the top of the bed off her head.”
Paramedics attempted to revive Davey but she was declared dead at the scene.
Davey’s dad, Robert Casson, told the court, his daughter was ‘very independent, a strong individual with strong opinions and fiercely loyal,’ as per The Echo.
“She was a loving mother,” he added.
A coroner’s report stated on 7 June. Davey’s neck had been trapped against the upper surface of the side panel of the bed’s base.
The report said: “The deceased was leaning over the storage area of an Ottoman-styled ‘gas-lift bed’ when the mattress platform descended unexpectedly, trapping her neck.”
It meant that the 39-year-old was unable to free herself, it is reported that the mother died of ‘positional asphyxia.’
The inquest which took place on October 4 concluded that Davey’s death was accidental.
Jeremy Chipperfield, Durham, and Darlington senior coroner said one of the Ottoman bed’s two gas-lift pistons was ‘defective.’
Chipperfield has also called on the UK government to act now to prevent future deaths.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) responded that it would do anything it could to prevent future similar accidents.
The coroner said in a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report: “In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances, it is my statutory duty to report to you.”
He went on: “The existence and use of gas piston bed mechanisms whose failure presents a risk to life.”
Chipperfield has also written to the business secretary and the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
The office now has until December 2 to respond, a spokesperson for DBT said: “This is a horrible tragedy and we’d like to express our sympathy to Helen’s friends and family
“We’re carefully considering the coroner’s report to understand the circumstances in this case and if there is anything we can do to prevent tragedies like this in the future we will respond fully before the deadline.”
Davey is survived by her daughter Elizabeth and son George.
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