JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Swedish furniture giant IKEA has tentatively agreed to pay $50 million to the families of three toddlers after dressers manufactured by the company tipped over, killing the children, according to the law firm representing the families.
The company confirmed the tentative settlement but declined comment because it has yet to be court-approved.
Curren Collas, Camden Ellis and Ted McGee, all two years old, each died in separate accidents involving the MALM line of dressers between 2014 and early 2016. The families of the children sued IKEA, claiming that the set of drawers was “inherently unstable” and disposed to toppling, according to the law firm, and that the company knew of prior tip-over episodes but “refused to re-design its furniture products to be more stable.”
The tentative settlement was reached Wednesday after a two-day mediation before a retired federal magistrate, the families’ law firm said.
Twenty-nine million of the chests were recalled in June and the company acknowledged a flaw in the design, saying that they were “unstable if they are not properly anchored to the wall, posing a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children.”
In addition to the three children named in the settlement, at least 36 others have been injured and three more killed due to tip-overs, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The settlement divides the $50 million evenly among the families of Collas, Ellis and McGee, according to Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP, the law firm that represents all three families. IKEA is further required to make donations to children’s hospitals in memory of the children and a foundation working towards the prevention of similar incidents, the law firm said.
June’s voluntary recall offered a full refund to consumers who had purchased the dressers between 2002 and 2016 or a kit that securely anchors the chest to a wall. Customers who bought the dressers prior to 2002 are eligible for a partial store credit. Going forward, the settlement will also require IKEA to ensure that dressers “meet or exceed … national voluntary safety standard for clothing storage units,” the families’ law firm said in a statement.
The company has also agreed to promote a public awareness program to warn consumers of similar risks, the law firm said.
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