Boy crushed to death by chest of drawers in US is third child to have died in accidents involving company’s Malm budget range
nent="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/ikea" draggable="true">Ikea has repeated safety warnings to customers about its Malm budget furniture range after a third child was crushed to death when a chest of drawers fell on him.
The Swedish company was forced to issue advice about the range – available online and in stores across the world including the UK and US – in July nent="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/23/ikea-issues-warning-after-deaths-of-us-children" draggable="true">last year after two children were killed in separate incidents in 2014.
In the latest tragedy, 22-month-old Ted McGee managed to tip a wooden chest of drawers on to himself at his home in Minnesota in February.
His mother said she put him down for a nap and was checking on him every 20 minutes until she found his bed empty and assumed he was hiding – only to find him under the chest.
nent="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/ikea">Ikea said the self-assembly chest was not fixed to the wall and issued another safety warning to parents.
In the US, federal safety regulators have launched an nent="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160417_Commission_probes_3rd_child_Ikea_dresser_death.html#muwpBPkd0IVUzATJ.99" draggable="true">investigation into the incident, which took place seven months after the retailer disclosed that millions of the chests were at risk of falling forward if not properly stabilised.
In February 2014, a two-year-old boy from Pennsylvania died when a Malm chest fell on him and pinned him to a bed. Three months later, a 23-month-old child from Washington was killed when a three-drawer Malm chest tipped over.
Although no deaths have been reported in the UK, parents here have been urged to use the wall restraints that come with the flat-pack furniture. Consumers in the UK worried about the furniture are urged to contact Ikea on 0203 645 0010 to request a free restraint kit if they no longer have the original.
An Ikea spokesperson said: “We at Ikea offer our deepest condolences to the McGee family. At Ikea, we believe children are the most important people in the world and the safety of our products is our highest priority. Upon being informed of this incident Ikea US immediately reported it to the authorities and an investigation is taking place. Ikea US has been advised that the product was not attached to the wall, which is an integral part of the products’ assembly instructions.”
It added: “We wish to emphasise that the best way to prevent tip-over of chests of drawers is to attach products to the wall with the included restraints and hardware per the assembly instructions. Ikea has included restraints with our chest of drawers for decades, and wall attachment is an integral part of the assembly instructions.”
The McGee family’s lawyer has claimed they were not aware of the issue or the previous safety warning.
