Feds confirm 7th child death from Ikea dresser tip-over
Four months after Ikea recalled 29 million dressers deemed a safety risk, federal regulators on Friday said they had confirmed a report of another child killed by a toppled Ikea dresser.
Four months after Ikea recalled 29 million dressers deemed a safety risk, federal regulators on Friday said they had confirmed a report of another child killed by a toppled Ikea dresser.
After a review, the Consumer Product Safety Commission added the 2011 death of a 2-year-old Woodbridge, Va., boy to the list of six children it says have died in an Ikea dresser tip-over.
That incident involved a three-drawer dresser from the company's popular, low-cost Malm line, which has already been tied to three other deaths. The agency used the news to again warn of the danger.
"Consumers should immediately stop using any recalled chest and dresser that is not properly anchored to the wall and place it into an area that children cannot access," it said in a statement.
In announcing the June recall, Ikea and the agency cited the six deaths and dozens of injuries to children resulting from tip-overs of Ikea dressers.
The agency's chairman, Elliot Kaye, has described them as "simply too dangerous" and urged consumers to immediately tether them to the wall or remove them from their homes.
The agency has not named the boy from the 2011 incident.
Ikea spokeswoman Mona Astra Liss said the company learned about the death only recently from the safety commission and that Ikea offered "sincere condolonces to the family."
A Malm dresser was also involved in the 2014 death of West Chester 2-year-old Curren Collas. The line, which Ikea began selling in 2002, has been pulled off the market, and the company says it is being redesigned.
The recall also applies to more than 100 other Ikea product lines sold over the last two decades. All fail to meet the industry standard for stability. In most cases Ikea has offered full refunds.
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