IKEA Begins Nationwide Repair Program to Fix Tip-Over Hazard in Dressers after Two Children Died

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) along with IKEA North America, have begun a repair program that will fix the tip-over hazard in IKEA chests and dressers. Two children died after dressers tipped over on them.

The models include their MALM three and four drawer chests and two styles of the MALM six drawer chests. The repair program also includes any IKEA adult dressers and chests that are taller than 29 ½ inches and children’s dressers and chests that are taller than 23 ½ inches, unless they are securely anchored to the wall. Roughly 7 million MALM chests and 20 million other IKEA chests and dressers are part of the nationwide repair program.

The repair program was prompted after the CPSC and IKEA received a report that a 2-year-old died in February of 2014, when a MALM six drawer chest tipped over and pinned him against the bed. In June of 2014, a 23-month-old child died after a MALM three drawer chest tipped over on him. Neither of the dressers were securely anchored to the wall. There have been 14 other reports of tip-over accidents involving the MALM chests that resulted in four injuries. IKEA says they are aware of three other deaths since 1989 that resulted from tip-overs in other IKEA chest and dresser models.

IKEA is offering consumers a wall anchoring repair kit for free. The kit contains tip-over restraints and a complete wall anchoring kit.

The CPSC and IKEA urge all consumers to inspect their dressers and chests to ensure they are securely anchored to the wall. If your dresser is not anchored to the wall, consumers should stop using the dresser or chest and move it to a safe location until it is properly anchored.

According to the CPSC, a child dies every two weeks and is injured every 24 minutes in the United States due to furniture or TV tip-overs. They urge consumers to securely anchor furniture and TVs to prevent these types of incidents.

It is a manufacturer’s responsibility to make sure their products are safe for consumers. If an individual is injured due to a defect in a product, a product liability claim may be pursued.

If you or someone you know were injured due to a defective product, contact the attorneys at Berger and Green for a free no obligation consultation.

Source:

Consumer Product Safety Commission, “IKEA Offers Free Wall Anchoring Repair Kit for Chests and Dressers Due to Tip-over Hazard After Two Children Died”