IKEA has issued a recall of nearly 29 million chests and dressers that have already been involved with the deaths of six children, and threatens many more. The recall represents one of the most comprehensive consumer safety recalls in American history.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released a video (see below) demonstrating the dangers these products have on children. Using a mannequin child, the video depicts that when a child goes to open a drawer, and the dresser or chest is not properly anchored to the wall, the drawer along with the entire piece can fall forward onto the child.
The products being recalled include six models of MALM chests or dressers made between the years 2002-2016, and around 100 other families of these pieces. All of the deaths involved dressers or chests that were not secured to the wall. This is also not the first time the Swedish furniture retailer has dealt with this type of issue.
From 1989 to 2007, 41 tip-overs of non-MALM pieces caused 19 injuries and three deaths.
In a press conference, CPSC Chairman Elliot F. Kaye said “every two weeks, a child in the United States is killed in a tip-over incident involving furniture or TV. In that time, hundreds more are injured.”
The six recent deaths from the IKEA chests and dressers include:
- A two year old boy from Pennsylvania
- A 23 month old boy from Washington
- 22 month old boy from Minnesota
- 3 others
CPSC & IKEA announced the joint recall of the 29 million pieces and encourages families with small children to install furniture anchors to all furniture throughout their home, regardless of the manufacturer.
As part of the effort to increase safety measures in homes across the country, IKEA is offering two options to consumers who have purchased any of their 29 million pieces. The options are:
- Consumers can take the product back to IKEA and get full refund or store credit depending on the age of the product
- If you want to keep the product, call IKEA for a free anchoring kit and anchor it yourself.
If you wish to get rid of the product but don’t have the means of transporting it to your nearest IKEA, call IKEA and they will come to your home and remove the product free of charge. If you wish to keep the product but you aren’t able to anchor a chest or dresser yourself, call IKEA and they will come to your home to install an anchor free of charge.
If you or someone you know own one of the products from the recall, you can contact IKEA at 1-866-856-4532 or email: secureit@ikea.com to discuss how to participate in the recall. Additionally, if someone has been injured by one of these products, contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help you get the legal help you deserve.