Consumer safety advocates are troubled that Ikea continued to sell a dangerous dresser for months after learning it no longer met safety standards, endangering the lives of children in Louisiana and around the world. Over the past 10 years, six children have been killed after top-heavy dressers from the Sweden-based retailer tipped over and crushed them.
According to media reports, Ikea’s three-drawer Kullen dresser fell out of compliance when a new furniture safety standard, which requires that dressers be able to stay upright with a 50-pound weight hanging on an open drawer, went into effect in August 2019. However, the company waited until Dec. 2 to take the product off the market. It then waited until early March to issue a voluntary recall of the item, which U.S. safety regulators say can topple over and cause serious injury or death to a child. While the safety standard is voluntary, it was developed by a respected furniture industry committee that Ikea actively participates in.
In a statement, a representative of Ikea said the company had already planned to pull the dresser from its shelves and website before the new safety standard went into effect. It also claimed that removing a product from its global network of stores takes time. However, safety and legal experts counter that the company’s lack of urgency was shocking given its history of selling tip-prone dressers. So far, the retailer has paid out at least $96 million in settlements to grieving families who have lost children due to its dressers.
Individuals who lose a family member to a dangerous product might be owed compensation for their losses. With the help of an attorney, it might be possible to file a product liability lawsuit against the at-fault manufacturer and obtain a settlement that covers funeral and burial expenses, loss of income, loss of companionship and more.