Is your home furnished with Ikea dressers that could easily tip over?

Despite recalls of 29 million chests of drawers and dressers in June 2016, Ikea dressers that are prone to tip still sit in possibly millions of homes. Several young children and toddlers have been killed or seriously injured when Ikea dressers have fallen on them.

Ikea reportedly reached out to consumers who had purchased the affected furniture to let them know they could return the dressers for a full or partial refund. Customers who wished to keep the dressers also had the option of ordering a free anchoring kit for the wall that would secure the dressers. If the customers weren’t comfortable installing the wall-anchoring kit themselves, Ikea allowed one of their employees to install it.

Ikea Dresser Blamed in Post-Recall Death

Two-year-old Jozef Dudek died in May 2017 when a Malm brand Ikea dresser fell on the boy. His father had put him down for a nap and found him trapped under the piece of furniture, according to an attorney who was representing the family.

Approximately 8 million Malm chests and dressers were recalled by Ikea in June 2016 after six children died and another 30 were injured by falling Malm brand Ikea dressers.

While Ikea insisted it spread the word regarding the recall through a national advertising campaign, news outlets, social media, and emails to consumers, the Dudeks claimed through their attorney that they were unaware of any recall.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Ikea North America issued a press release in June 2016 that said the Ikea dressers pose “a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or serious injuries to children.”

The Consumer Federation of America and other non-profit safety organizations expressed dissatisfaction with Ikea’s efforts to publicize the recall after learning only three percent of the affected products had been repaired or returned months after the recall. A letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission says in part “These unsecured dressers are ticking time bombs in our children’s bedrooms and homes.”

“Rather than move on to new versions of the tainted Malm name and sweep the recall under the rug, Ikea must do everything it can to retrieve its faulty dressers.”

After the young boy’s death, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Kids in Danger, the National Center for Health Research, Public Citizen, Shane’s Foundation and U.S. Public Interest Research Group issued a statement asking the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Ikea to boost the recall efforts of Ikea dressers.

The groups’ statement said, “From the delay in issuing a recall to lackluster efforts by Ikea to fully communicate the hazard and the recall to the public – relying instead on soft messages on securing any and all furniture – this death highlights the risks to children of tip-over incidents.”

Falling Ikea dressers allegedly crushed three young boys to death, and their families settled a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit in December 2017.