Recalled Ikea Dresser Kills 2-Year-Old Boy

Ikea has come under fire after a toddler from Buena Park, California, was fatally injured by a recalled dresser, according to reports. Millions of the Sweedish retailer's unsteady dressers were recalled due to the possibility of deadly tipping accidents. The incident was the eighth fatal injury from the recalled dresser.

Two-year-old Jozef Dudek died in May after he was crushed by an unstable Ikea Malm dresser. The incident occurred after the toddler's father put him down for a nap. The father returned to the room to discover the Ikea dresser had toppled over, with the toddler underneath of it. The Dudek's weren't aware that the dresser had been recalled by the furniture company.

"When the father entered the room of the child who had been put down for a nap, he found him underneath the dresser," Alan M. Feldman, the family's lawyer, told the New York Daily News Friday. "Unfortunately, there are 29 million of these things that were sold, and the recall was ineffective in alerting consumers about the problem about the defective condition of the dresser."

Feldman added, "It has long been our view that furniture stability should be built into a dresser and anchoring should be a secondary method of securing furniture. But it should be made safe by design initially."

Ikea offered an apology to the Dudek's for the death of their toddler.

"Through the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), we have learned of a tragic tip-over accident which reportedly took place in May 2017 in California," Ikea wrote in a statement Thursday. "Our hearts go out to the affected family, and we offer our sincere condolences during this most difficult time."

Ikea added, "The initial investigation indicates that the chest involved in this incident had not been properly attached to the wall. IKEA urges all consumers to securely attach chests to the wall with the hardware included in every IKEA chest of drawers package."

Feldman represented three of the affected families, which were all awarded $50 million. The settlement money is said to have been divided among the three families.

Ikea's Malm collection and other dressers have been redesigned following its initial recall announcement in June 2016. The redesign was executed to ensure that the retailer's furniture met the voluntary ASTM International stability standards.

Feldman's law firm alleged that the toddler's death was "completely avoidable," according to a Thursday report from PR News Wire. Ikea, however, claimed that their efforts to alert customers of the recall went "beyond both the industry standard as well as what was required by law."

Ikea's efforts included press releases, national news coverage and social media advertisement, among other communication methods.

"The recalled chests and dressers are unstable if they are not properly anchored to the wall, posing a tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children," an Ikea press release on the Malm dressers read in June 2016.

Safety standards for dressers are currently optional. Lawmakers, however, proposed a bill that would aid in making safety standards for free-standing dresser units mandatory for manufacturers in June 2016. The bill, titled the STURDY Act, proved to be unsuccessful.