Posted in News on July 31, 2015
According to data furnished by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a child dies by either furniture or a TV tipping over at least once every couple of weeks. Keeping this alarming statistic in mind, Montana residents who are familiar with the Swedish Furniture store IKEA may find it interesting and helpful to know that recently IKEA announced that the company is giving away, completely free of charge, anchoring kits to any of their customers who own IKEA drawers and dressers, to prevent them from toppling over and harming someone.
IKEA announced this offer after two children lost their lives when their drawers fell on top of them crushing them to death. IKEA launched a repair program that provides the anchoring kits free of charge to any person that owns either children’s drawers or adult drawers and dressers.
In addition to the two child fatalities both IKEA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission indicated that they are aware of at least 14 other instances of chests tipping over, and in four of those instances someone suffered injuries. As such, IKEA decided to offer the free kits in case any of their 27 million customers who have purchased qualifying dressers or drawers need them.
When harm results to consumers from widely used and popular products, it is important to know what legal rights a consumer has. The legal area of product liability in the event of a voluntary recall for instance may confuse people as to whether they must fix an issue or if it is only a recommendation to fix. Either way, if harm results to consumers because of a defective product, the consumer may be entitled to damages and compensation for their injuries. When in doubt, it is best to consult with a product liability law firm for more information and to discuss what legal options are available.
Source: NBC Montana, “Ikea’s drawers get fix after death of 2 kids,” David Goldman, July 22, 2015