8th Child Death Linked to Recalled IKEA Furniture
A child in California was fatally crushed under a three-drawer IKEA dresser that fell on top of him during his naptime.
About the Fatal IKEA Dresser Accident
According to ABC News, 2-year-old Jozef Dudek sustained fatal injuries in May when a recalled IKEA MALM dresser fell on him. An attorney for the family said no one else was in the room when the accident occurred.
In a written statement, IKEA offered its condolences to the family and said that the chest involved was not properly attached to a wall. Still, advocates like Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger, say that IKEA simply is not doing enough to reach parents who own these recalled dressers, adding that as few as 3 percent of affected consumers have received a repair kit or refund.
Josef’s death is the eighth such death linked to the IKEA dressers with the earliest death being traced back to 1989. The recall on the current dressers was not issued until June 2016, after the seven other deaths had already occurred. Another 36 injures have been linked to the recalled dressers by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
About the IKEA Dresser Recall
The recall currently affects 29 million dressers and chests in IKEA’s MALM furniture series. The following Ikea dresser and chest models were included in the voluntary recall:
- MALM 3
- Sale Dates: 10/2002 to 6/2016
- Measurements: 31½” x 18⅞” x 30¾”
- MALM 4
- Sale Dates: 6/2002 to 6/2016
- Measurements: 31½” x 18⅞” x 39½”
- MALM 5
- Sale Dates: 10/2002 to 4/2006
- Measurements: 15⅞” x 19” x 49¼“
- MALM 6
- Sale Dates: 6/2002 to 6/2016
- Measurements: 31½” x 18⅞” x 48⅜”
