IKEA agrees to pay US$46 million to parents of toddler crushed by dresser: Report

Two-year-old Josef Dudek died in May 2017 after he became trapped under an MALM chest.

BUENA PARK, California: The parents of a child who was crushed to death by a dresser from IKEA will receive a US$46 million settlement.

The settlement was announced on Monday (Jan 6) by attorneys representing Craig and Joleen Dudek, whose 2-year-old son Josef died in May 2017 when hewastrapped under a MALM chest after his father put him down for a nap.

At the time of Josef's death, IKEA's popular MALM furniture line had already been subject to a recall in June 2016 after three children died.

According to USA Today, the settlement is nearly three times the amount paid out by IKEA to settle similar lawsuits in 2016, with US$50 million split among three families.

"We miss him so much," Joleen Dudek, Jozef's mother,said on Monday, according to the report.

"He would be turning 5 this year in April. We never thought that a 2-year-old could cause a short 30-inch dresser to tip over and suffocate him.

"It was only later that we learned that this dresser was designed unstable and did not meet safety standards and that this had happened to other little boys."

Josef's parents said they will donate US$1 million from the settlement to threeconsumer organisations which advocate tip-over safety - Kids in Danger, Consumer Reports and the Consumer Federation of America.

IKEA confirmed the settlement and said:"While no settlement can alter the tragic events that brought us here, for the sake of the family and all involved, we’re grateful that this litigation has reached a resolution."

"We remain committed to working proactively and collaboratively to address this very important home safety issue. Again, we offer our deepest condolences."

"DEFECTIVE AND DANGEROUS"

Josef Dudek was the first child who died after the recall was announced - his parents filed a lawsuit in 2018, claiming that they were unaware of the recall.

They faulted IKEA for not notifying them directly, with one of the family's lawyers stating that IKEA had failed to promote the recall more aggressively, especially since IKEA should have had the family's contact information because it was purchased on a credit card.

"Once a manufacturer admits that a product is dangerous and defective and shouldn’t be in children’s bedrooms … they should do everything that they can to inform consumers and purchasers that the product is defective," said the lawyer, Dan Mann.

The lawsuit by the Dudeks claimed that despiteIKEA being aware that the dressers “presented an unreasonable tip-over hazard and were dangerously unsafe”, the company still continued to sell them.

Tracey Kelly, corporate communications manager of IKEAUS, told USA Today that about 420,000 returned dressers had been destroyed in the three years that the recall was announced, with 1.05 million anchoring kits provided to consumers.

According to USA Today, Kelly said that IKEA has aggressively promoted the recall, includingthrough a national television campaign, direct emails to those known to have purchased recalled products, and both in-store and online ads.