In February, a 22-month old from Apple Valley, Minnesota was killed by a falling Malm dresser; his family was unaware of the danger the Malm dresser posed, including two deaths from Malm dresser tip-overs
In a letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the lawmakers urged the federal agency to prevent future possible injuries and deaths by conducting a full recall of Malm dressers, stopping the sale of Malm dressers until safety improvements are made, and determining an appropriate remedy for consumers who have purchased Malm dressers that includes a full refund
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to take action to prevent future injuries and deaths from tip-overs of the IKEA Malm dresser. In February, a 22-month old from Apple Valley, Minnesota was killed by a falling Malm dresser; however, his family was unaware of the danger the Malm dresser posed, including two deaths from Malm dresser tip-overs. After these two deaths, IKEA and the CPSC announced a repair program to provide owners a free wall anchoring kit but IKEA has stated that it has distributed only 300,000 new wall anchors, which only cover about one percent of the 27 million dressers sold. In a letter to CPSC, the lawmakers urged the federal agency to prevent future possible injuries and deaths by conducting a full recall of Malm dressers, stopping the sale of Malm dressers until safety improvements are made, and determining an appropriate remedy for consumers who have purchased Malm dressers that includes a full refund.
“In February 2016, 22-month-old Theodore “Ted” McGee from Apple Valley, Minnesota, was killed by a falling Malm dresser. The dresser was not secured to the wall, and Ted’s parents were not aware of the danger the dresser posed, the CPSC’s July 2015 announcement, or the repair program. Many other families are still at risk,” wrote the lawmakers. “To definitively address the dangers they pose, we urge the CPSC to conduct a full recall of Malm dressers that specifically uses the term “recall” in notices to consumers, stop the sale of Malm dressers until safety improvements are made, and determine an appropriate remedy for consumers who have purchased Malm dressers that includes offering a full refund.”
The full text of the lawmakers letter is below.
Dear Chairman Kaye:
We are writing to urge the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to take strong and definitive action to prevent future injuries and deaths from tip-overs of IKEA’s Malm dresser.
As you are aware, furniture tip-overs are a significant hazard, especially for children. In the United States, a child is killed on average every two weeks by a falling piece of furniture, television, or appliance, and more than 22,000 children are treated for injuries related to instability or tip-overs each year. We appreciate that the CPSC has undertaken a broad “Anchor It!” campaign to educate consumers about tip-over hazards. Still, the CPSC must take additional action to address the known hazard caused by the IKEA Malm dresser.
In July 2015, after two deaths from the Malm dresser tip-overs, the CPSC and IKEA announced a repair program to provide owners a free wall anchoring kit. The announcement advised consumers to immediately stop using dressers not secured to the wall, but it did not require IKEA to stop selling the dressers.
The actions taken by IKEA are clearly insufficient. In February 2016, 22-month-old Theodore “Ted” McGee from Apple Valley, Minnesota, was killed by a falling Malm dresser. The dresser was not secured to the wall, and Ted’s parents were not aware of the danger the dresser posed, the CPSC’s July 2015 announcement, or the repair program. Many other families are still at risk. IKEA states that it has distributed 300,000 new wall anchors, which only covers about one percent of the 27 million dressers sold.
There are also serious questions regarding the compliance of the Malm dresser with the voluntary industry standard, ASTM F2057-14. That standard requires that (1) each individual drawer, when open, can hold a 50-pound weight without tipping; (2) the dresser not tip with all the drawers open; (3) the furniture come with warnings and a strap to attach the furniture to the wall; and (4) the first two requirements be met without the strap attached.
Following the announcement of the repair program for Malm dressers, the Philadelphia Inquirer conducted tip-over tests of the dressers. The dressers they tested reportedly failed to meet even the first requirement of the ASTM standard. The dresser crashed forward as soon as a 50-pound weight was hung on one drawer. The dressers also failed the second requirement, falling over when all the drawers were opened.
Some in the industry argue that furniture that is only designed to be used when anchored to a wall is not covered by ASTM F2057-14. While the standard does include a limited exception intended for built-in furniture that is truly a permanent part of the home, it clearly does not apply to the Malm dresser. If the Malm dresser does indeed fail to meet the voluntary standard, the CPSC should declare them defective.
Malm dressers present an unreasonable risk of harm to children. To definitively address the dangers they pose, we urge the CPSC to (1) conduct a full recall of Malm dressers that specifically uses the term “recall” in notices to consumers, (2) stop the sale of Malm dressers until safety improvements are made, and (3) determine an appropriate remedy for consumers who have purchased Malm dressers that includes offering a full refund. The CPSC should also consider whether similar actions are appropriate for the other types of IKEA dressers.
We look forward to your prompt action to address this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
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