Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ikea again recalls chests, dressers
Eighth child trapped underneath item
NEW YORK — Ikea relaunched a recall of 17.3 million chests and dressers Tuesday after the death of an eighth child.
CEO Lars Petersson said Ikea wants to increase awareness of the recall campaign for several types of chests and dressers that can easily tip over if not properly anchored to a wall.
The death of Jozef Dudek, 2, of Buena Park, Calif., who was found trapped underneath an Ikea Malm dresser in May, has raised questions about whether Ikea has effectively spread the word about the recall, which was first announced in June 2016.
The Swedish retailer and the federal safety regulators are asking customers to take immediate action to secure
the dressers, or to return them.
The company emailed 13 million people about the recall two months ago, he said.
Still, Petersson said heightening awareness of the recall is necessary “because we think that it’s so important to reach as many people as possible.”
Acting CPSC chairman Ann Marie Buerkle said that people who own the furniture can take care of any potential hazards by contacting Ikea.
The recall is for children’s chests and drawers taller than 23.5 inches and adult chests and dressers taller than 29.5 inches. Customers should contact Ikea for a free wall-mounting kit. The company also is offering to send crews to attach them in the home.
Ikea originally said the recall was for 29 million chest and drawers in the U.S. but has revised the figure downward to 17.3 million because the bigger figure included furniture that didn’t fit the parameters of the recall.
Ikea is also offering full refunds for the chests and dressers manufactured from January 2002 to June 2016.