Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed over Ikea Dresser

Ikea is facing another wrongful lawsuit involving its Malm dresser, Philly.com reports. The parents of a toddler are suing the Swedish furniture giant following the death of their son, who died after being pinned by the dresser. The lawsuit alleges Ikea knew the dresser was unstable, but sold it nonetheless. The case was filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.

According to the lawsuit, the three-drawer Malm tipped onto the toddler on June 11, 2014 and he became pinned under it. After his father removed the dresser, his mother performed CPR. He was transported to a hospital where he remained on a ventilator for four days. Then, his parents made the decision to remove him from life support. The lawsuit alleges Ikea sells dressers that fail to meet furniture industry safety standards for stability. In October, Ikea told The Inquirer that it believes dressers are not subject to these rules. The parents are seeking compensatory and punitive damages for medical expenses, funeral expenses, their son’s pain and suffering, and the family’s emotional distress.

The is not the first fatal tip-over case reported with the use of a Malm dresser. A 2-year-old died in February 2014 when a dresser fell onto him; his mother has filed a similar lawsuit against Ikea.

In July, Ikea and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a “repair program” involving 27 million dressers. Ikea cautioned the dressers could become unstable if not secured to the wall, citing the deaths of both boys. The company offered replacement restraint kits to customers who purchased the dressers. According to Philly.com, a repair program is technically a recall according to the safety commission’s laws. However, Ikea has specifically avoided calling the action a recall, emphasizing that it did not offer to replace or buy back the dressers.