EIGHTH CHILD DIES IN DRESSER MISHAP,

New York Daily News

An eighth child has been killed by an unstable Ikea dresser that fell on top of the boy when he was alone in his bedroom.

Two-year-old Jozef Dudek from California was killed when a three-drawer Ikea dresser— that was part of a recall last year—fell over and crushed the boy during naptime.

The family’s lawyer, Alan M. Feldman, said the accident occurred in May and the boy was unsupervised at the time.

“When the father entered the room of the child who had been put down for a nap, he found him underneath the dresser,” Feldman told the Daily News.

Ikea recalled the three-drawer Malm and other models of chests and dressers in June 2016, citing a serious tip-over hazard, and urged customers who’d purchased the dressers to either anchor them to a wall or return them for a refund.

But Feldman insists the recall was ineffective. He also says consumer products should be stable on their own and not require additional anchoring for them to be considered safe.

“The vast majority of consumers do not secure these dressers to the wall and 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,” Feldman said.

Ikea offered condolences to the family of the boy who was killed.

“Our hearts go out to the affected family, and we offer our sincere condolences during this most difficult time,” the company said in a statement.

The company also said “the initial investigation indicates that the chest involved in this incident had not been properly attached to the wall.”