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After recalling millions of tip-prone dressers that have killed at least nine children and injured dozens more, Ikea says shoppers must now acknowledge the risk that furniture could tip over onto children before making a purchase.Â
Ikea announced Friday it is requiring shoppers at all U.S. stores to acknowledge they must attach the furniture to the wall. They must also provide their name and email address.
Ikea’s announcement came as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal agency tasked with protecting Americans from hazardous products, released a new report Thursday about tip-over injuries and fatalities.
“The safe use of IKEA products is our top priority, and this new sales requirement reinforces the need for wall attachment to help protect our customers and their homes from tip-over incidents,†Patricia Lobell, Ikea U.S. market area manager, said in a statement. “IKEA believes that the risk of tip-over incidents is reduced when chests of drawers and other select clothing storage units are properly attached to the wall.”
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Virtually all dressers have the potential to tip, but Ikea’s have proven particularly hazardous, a USA TODAY investigation found. As part of a 2016 recall of 17.3 million units, Ikea pulled about half its bureaus off the market and said they did not meet the industry’s safety standard, including the popular, low-cost Malm line.
In January 2020, Ikea paid $46 million to the parents of a 2-year-old California boy who died in 2017 when he was trapped beneath the Malm dresser in his bedroom. The family’s lawyers said they believe it is the largest settlement resulting from the wrongful death of a child in U.S. history.
Between 2000 and 2019, 451 children 17 and under were killed by furniture and television tip-over incidents, the CPSC report found. An annual average of 11,100 children were treated in hospital emergency rooms for tip-over-related injuries between 2017 and 2019.
The report found that 79% of fatalities were children younger than 6 and 75% of fatalities involved a television.
The goal should be to make furniture that doesn’t tip, CPSC Acting Chairman Robert Adler said in a statement to USA TODAY about Ikea’s new requirement.
“Tip overs are a particularly difficult hidden hazard, and can happen in literally the blink of an eye even when parents are nearby,” Adler said. “At the same time, consumers deserve to have all the information available about how to keep themselves and their children safe – including understanding how helpful anchoring can be.”
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Nancy Cowles, executive director for Kids in Danger, a nonprofit consumer product safety group, said anchoring kits are important but that not a lot of people use them.
“Anything that alerts parents to the dangers of tip-overs is a good thing … our push is really to make sure that furniture is more stable,†she said. “While this is a good step for Ikea, we would hope that they would put as much effort into making sure their furniture is safer and less likely to tip.â€
A class-action lawsuit against Ikea over the dressers is ongoing, said Daniel Mann, one of the plaintiff’s lawyers on the case. Ikea’s motion to dismiss the case was recently denied.
Mann, a partner with Philadelphia’s Feldman Shepherd law firm, said Ikea’s new requirement has nothing to do with safe dresser design. The company “is looking to gain an unfair litigation advantage if one of their unstable dressers tips over and causes harm to a child,” he said.
There have also been instances of Ikea furniture tipping over when it is attached, Mann said.Â
In June 2020, California mother Nicole Oka shared a harrowing video captured on a baby camera of her then 2-year-old twins climbing on an anchored Ikea bookcase and of it crashing. The twins were not injured.
Ikea requirement: How it works
Ikea says the newrequirement is for chests of drawers and other select clothing storage units. Signs in stores will direct customers to use their phones to access the online acknowledgment and registration form at www.ikea-usa.com/safe.
On the website, customers will have to acknowledge the need to attach the furniture and register with their contact email prior to purchase. Ikea says the email address will “only be used to share important safety updates and provide a reminder about the need for wall attachment.”
Ikea says employees will be available to assist customers with the form.
“Customers will then receive an email confirming the completion of their registration, which must be shown to an IKEA coworker stationed at the entrance of a gated self-service aisle in order to enter and collect their furniture item,” the company said.
Acknowledging the tip-over risk is required to purchase online as well.
Here is what the acknowledgment box says: “I understand that furniture I am purchasing MUST BE ATTACHED TO THE WALL per the assembly instructions to help prevent tipover. Tipover-prevention hardware is included with the furniture. I can use TaskRabbit to find help with assembly and wall-attachment if I cannot do it myself. I can be reached at this email address to receive safety information about this product. My personal information is subject to the IKEA Privacy Policy, available at IKEA-usa.com, and I am 18+ years old.”
Contributing: Tricia L. Nadolny, USA TODAY
Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter:Â @KellyTyko
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