Walmart Dresser Tipover Dangers Identified in Mainstays Four-Drawer Chest of Drawers

When you buy furniture, you probably don’t think about a dresser tipover hazard, but many families wish they would have considered the possibility.

If you bought a Walmart Mainstays dresser made by Ameriwood Home, you could own a dresser that could tip over more easily than it should.

The Mainstays dresser has been under recall because of its potential for dresser tipover and an associated risk of injury. Small children under the age of six are especially at risk of being crushed by a falling dresser.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has advised owners of the Mainstay dressers to stop using them and to keep them out of the reach of children unless the dressers are anchored to a wall.

The Mainstays four-drawer chest of drawers sold by Walmart was recalled in September 2017. Nearly 1.6 million of the dressers were sold between April 2009 and May 2016. Most purchasers paid a retail price of around $60.

Ameriwood offers a repair kit that includes a wall anchoring device and feet for the unit to help stabilize it.

A dresser tipover hazard is not something that can be evaluated by simply looking at the dresser. The industry does not have a mandatory standard, only a voluntary standard that says dressers that are higher than 30 inches should not tip over with a 50-pound weight hanging from an open drawer.

The recalled Mainstays dresser does not comply with the U.S. voluntary industry standard, according to the CPSC.

Manufacturers are not required to test their furniture for potential dresser tipover issues. Some consumer advocates are trying to convince regulators to create a mandatory safety standard.

Currently, consumers are left responsible to ensure their furniture does not tip over. Anchoring kits are sold separately in order to connect a dresser to a wall. However, not all consumers are aware of such kits, and some walls are not designed to safely and adequately anchor pieces of furniture.

Walmart is not the only retail store under investigation for selling hazardous furniture. Target has also been under the microscope for their Target Room Essentials dresser.

Dresser Tipover Dangers a New Problem

Decades ago, dressers were made of hard wood with a heavy wood base that prevented them from becoming easily tipped over. Today’s furniture is often made with plywood, compressed wood or even plastic compounds that make furniture lighter to move, but also more easily tipped over.

According to the CPSC, 46 percent of tipover fatalities occur in a bedroom. More than 30,000 people were treated in emergency rooms annual for injuries related to furniture, televisions and appliances tipping over on them from 2014 through 2016.

A dresser of virtually any size and any price can become a tipover hazard if it becomes top-heavy for any reason. As televisions in bedrooms have become more popular, many people place a TV on top of a dresser. This is particularly hazardous because older televisions are dangerously heavy, and newer, thinner units are more easily tipped over.

A child who wishes to reach the TV or any object left on top of dresser is apt to become a victim of a dresser tipover accident if the child uses open drawers as stairs to reach the top.

Join a Free Walmart Dresser Tip Over Recall Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased a Mainstays dresser from Walmart.com or in a Walmart store that was part of a tip over hazard recall, you may be entitled to compensation.

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