Update with CPSC comments: Letter to CPSC asks for recall of Ikea dresser

MINNESOTA – Furniture retailer Ikea said it is expanding its campaign to make sure parents know to secure case pieces to the wall to avoid tip over incidents such as the death of a Minnesota child in February who was killed by one of the company’s Malm chests.

The Guardian reported that 22-month-old Ted McGee, of Minnesota, died in February after the chest tipped over on him.

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A piece from the Malm line was also involved in two separate deaths of children, one in Pennsylvania and one in Washington, that occurred in February and May 2014.

Last July, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Ikea North America announced a repair program that offered free wall anchoring kits for Ikea Malm chests and dressers. The warning applied to the Malm three- and four-drawer chests and two styles of Malm six-drawer chests as well as other unspecified chests and dressers.

Without these anchors, the CPSC said, the pieces can pose a tip over hazard.

Ikea said it was advised the latest incident involved a case that was not attached to the wall. The wall attachment, it said, is an “integral part of the product’s assembly instructions.”

In a statement, Ikea said that it has communicated to consumers the importance of the wall attachment through a safety campaign called Secure It!

“Efforts have included sending emails to millions of customers, paid advertisements in parent magazines, posting notices on the IKEA website, Facebook and Twitter postings, paid Internet searches, and videos posted online about the importance of wall-attachment,” the company said. “This investment has resulted in the message being distributed more than 100 million times in the last year. In addition, there has been significant media coverage of the repair kit program since last July.”

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Company spokeswoman Mona Liss also said that the company also plans to expand the campaign in order to reach more people and has provided an additional 300,000 free wall attachment kits to U.S. consumers through April 3. These are in addition to the restraints it provides at the time of purchase.

“At Ikea, we believe children are the most important people in the world and the safety of our products is our highest priorty,” the company said. “Consistent with our ongoing work and cooperation with the CPSC, upon being informed of the incident, we immediately reported it to the agency and an investigation is taking place.”

Scott Wolfson, a communications director with the CPSC, confirmed that the agency is looking into the matter. “We are deeply concerned about the tip-over risk with the Malm dressers,” he said. “If the Malm and others (related pieces) have yet to be anchored, then we advise that they not be used.”

Update with CPSC comments: Letter to CPSC asks for recall of Ikea dresser