After death of eighth child, Ikea relaunches dresser recall
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 chest and dressers that can easily tip over if not properly anchored to a wall.
The death of a California toddler, 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.
Petersson said Ikea has had an “extensive communication” campaign through social media, its website and television and print ads. The company emailed 13 million people about the recall two months ago, he said.
Still, he 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 is also 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.
Canadian safety officials issued a similar recall last year for Ikea chest and dressers that don’t meet North American voluntary standards.
Ikea is offering full refunds for anyone who no longer wants the chest and dressers manufactured between January 2002 and June 2016. Those with recalled furniture made prior to that can receive a partial store credit. Customers can bring them to a store, or Ikea will pick them up.
At least eight children under the age of three have been killed when an Ikea dresser fell on them, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The first death occurred 28 years ago and the others occurred after 2002.
The latest death was Jozef Dudek, 2, of Buena Park, California. The toddler had been put down for a nap when his father went in to check on him and found him under the dresser, according to details released by lawyers retained by the family.
Alan Feldman, one of the lawyers representing the Dudek family, said Ikea’s recall has been ineffective and the recent announcement will not change that. Rather than distributing wall-mounting kits to people, Feldman said Ikea needs to get “these dangerous dressers out of kids’ bedrooms.”
The Dudek family never received any additional information about the dresser from Ikea even though they bought it directly from the retailer and had given the company their email and home address to join a customer loyalty program.