Ikea denies it has recalled unstable furniture

Ikea has decided not to issue a recall of some of its home furnishing products even though it has admitted that a large number of its free standing bedroom furniture items have been described as unstable. Residents of Essex who have bought Ikea furniture may be aware that two young children were killed in the U.S. in 2014 after dressers under the Malm brand tipped over and crushed them. The latest safety warning comes a few months after Ikea issued a product recall on 169,000 mattresses that were sold for use in baby cots earlier this year.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission in the U.S. issued a statement in conjunction with Ikea to warn consumers that any of the dressers and chests that are over a certain height should be considered unstable. The warning applies to around 27 million units sold worldwide. Although Ikea has not recalled any of these products, it has offered customers who have bought these items a free kit so that the free standing furniture can be attached to the wall.

Ikea has almost 300 stores selling its products in 27 countries throughout the world. A spokeswoman for the Swedish company announced that it viewed safety as its highest priority and warned consumers that any tall piece of furniture should be attached to a wall. The CPSC has stated that children’s furniture taller than 23.5 inches and adult furniture taller than 29.5 inches need to be secured in this way. Approximately 7 million units of the Malm brand of furniture have been sold since 2002.

The legal area of product liability applies to the manufacturer, producer and seller of defective goods. A solicitor familiar with this area of the law may be able to offer advice and assistance to a client who has been injured by a dangerous product.