IKEA is known for its stylish, affordable furniture, but that affordability can come at a price. IKEA’s furniture needs to be assembled at home, and can actually be quite dangerous if not assembled properly. The latest example of this is the 2 year old California toddler who was recently crushed underneath IKEA’s Malm dresser while he napped.
This is the 8th such incident resulting from the Malm dresser line. IKEA says the accident was caused as a result of a failure to properly anchor the dresser to the wall. The family of the toddler claims they were not made aware of the danger of the Malm dresser, or the recall. This dresser has become known to be unstable if not properly anchored to the wall and has a great risk of tipping over, posing the greatest threat to young children. IKEA had already paid out $50 million to 3 families in 2014 and 2015.
Unfortunately, the lack of knowledge regarding the recall isn’t unique. IKEA sold as many as 65 million Malm dressers over the past 13 years. Only recently has the furniture company removed them from the website and stopped selling them altogether. The first public reports of child deaths associated with this dresser line occurred in 2014. When the problem became public, IKEA offered to replace the Malm dressers or provide replacement anchors to ensure their safety. As of now, IKEA is offering a full refund on the dresser or store credit depending on how old the unit is. If the customer would like to keep the dresser, IKEA is offering to send a repair team to anchor the dresser properly.
The biggest issue is getting the word out to owners of the Malm dressers. According to non-profit Kids In Danger, out of the 65 million Malm dressers that have been sold, it’s possible that only 3% have actually been repaired with IKEA’s repair kits or refunded altogether. That means there are potentially millions of households with this dresser still in them, posing a potentially life threatening risk to small children. This has led some to believe that IKEA has not done enough to get the word out regarding the Malm recall.
