Ikea pays £35 million pounds after falling drawer kills child

IKEA has agreed to pay £35 million ($46 million) to the parents of a two-year-old boy who was killed when a chest of drawers in his bedroom fell on him.

 

Jozef Dudek died from suffocation in May 2017 after the company's Malm drawers tipped over and crushed him in Buena Park, California.  Lawyers representing Jozef's parents Craig and Joleen Dudek believe it is the largest 'wrongful death' settlement in US history. 

 

In a statement, IKEA said it offered its deepest condolences and is working to address "this very important home safety issue," including offering consumer education and safety workshops and working to make safer products.  "While no settlement can alter the tragic events that brought us here, for the sake of the family and all involved, we're grateful that this litigation has reached a resolution," it said.

 

Jozef was one of a number of children who have been killed by the furniture item (Dudek family) .  

 

The Dudeks said they were "devastated" by their son's death.  They plan to donate $1 million from the settlement to organisations that advocate for more rigorous stability testing for dressers, they said.

 

The item, which weighed 70lbs (32kg), had been recalled in 2016 over safety concerns after three other children were killed.

 

They accused IKEA of knowing that its Malm dressers posed a tip-over hazard and that they had injured or killed a number of other children.  They said the company had failed to warn consumers that the dressers shouldn't be used without being anchored to a wall. 

 

The settlement requires IKEA to meet with the advocacy organisation, Parents Against Tip-overs, and broaden its outreach to consumers about the recall of IKEA dressers.

 

In 2017, the company re-launched the recall in the US and Canada.  It said items in its Malm range and other chests, and dressers pose a "serious tip-over and entrapment hazard" if not secured to a wall.

 

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission launched an education campaign about the risk of falling chests of drawers following the triple suit.

 

And under the settlement, Ikea agreed to only sell chests in the US that meet or exceed the national voluntary safety standard for clothing storage units.

 

PM Law 

Sheffield Solicitors