A siderail and support mechanism for a bed includes a siderail having a head edge and a foot edge. First and second support arms having upper and lower pivot shafts are configured to pivotally attach the siderail to a bed. At least one of the first support arm and the second support arm includes an edge configured to form a continuous face with one of the head edge and the foot edge of the siderail. In a further embodiment, a bed siderail and support mechanism includes a siderail for a bed including a central portion and at least one end portion. The end portion is configured to extend lower than the central portion to closely cooperate with a bed structure for preventing a patient from being trapped between the siderail and the bed. The siderails are configured to minimize potential trapping hazards.