Woman sues Sleep Number after mother is trapped between mattress and wall for 2 days, dies

A woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Minneapolis-based Sleep Number Corporation and Leggett & Platt, Inc. — the company that manufactured the bed’s base — after her mother became trapped between the mattress and the wall for two days and died a month later of her injuries.

Angela Moan, the surviving daughter of Rosalind Walker, filed the lawsuit in St. Louis County District Court in Missouri.

The wrongful death lawsuit alleges one count of negligence and one count of strict liability against both Sleep Number and Leggett and Platt, Inc. It also accused Sleep Number of breaching its 25-year warranty.

Moan is seeking at least $25,000 for her mother’s predeath suffering and injuries, related medical bills and for the “loss of her mother’s society.”

The lawsuit states Walker purchased the bed in Brentwood, Missouri, and arranged for it to be delivered to her home in Godfrey, Illinois.

Walker was in between the raised bed and the wall of her bedroom when the bed lowered without warning on March 1, 2023, the lawsuit states. She became trapped between the bed and wall for around two days, according to the court document.

First responders freed Walker on March 3 and brought her to the hospital. Walker was transferred to a rehabilitation center before being brought home on hospice. She died a month later on April 3.

The lawsuit states that from the time Walker was brought home on hospice until she died, “she suffered the entire time.”

The lawsuit states Sleep Number Corporation and Leggett & Platt owed Walker a duty of reasonable care and they breached that duty by:

• Designing and selling a bed that didn’t have adequate instructions or cautionary language warning Walker not to go in between the bed and wall as she could be trapped
• Designing and selling a bed that didn’t have an audible warning to alert Walker that the bed was declining
• Designing and selling a bed that declined with so much force that it trapped Walker
• Designing and selling a bed that had a timer causing the bed to decline without physical input or warning
• Designing and selling a bed that didn’t have an appropriate release mechanism that would have allowed Walker to free herself

The bed was “defective and unreasonably dangerous” due to its design and lack of warning and because it was “more dangerous than an ordinary customer would expect, court documents add.

Sleep Number sent the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS:

“Sleep Number is 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 this week, December 10. 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.”