Ikea has a black history with one of its icon furniture. The MALM chest of drawers, which many of you will probably have at home, is responsible for the death of eight children in the United States. The little ones they have died crushed when the furniture fell on them, either due to a weak anchor, or directly because it is not anchored to the wall.
The last case, the eighth, has been a two year old boy who died in May (although it has been known now) from the blow suffered when the furniture fell on him while he was taking a nap.
Although the safety warning to enclose the furniture to the wall Included in the assembly instructions, there are many parents who ignore it.
When the drawers are arranged in the form of a ladder, the children climb and, not being anchored to the wall, the weight causes the child to get trapped underneath. This happened in this case in which a two-year-old baby saves his twin brother from being crushed by a chest of drawers (video).
It can also happen that it has a lot of weight to bear and when not being properly anchored it can tip over, crushing the child who may be in front of it.
In the United States, a child dies every two weeks due to injuries caused by the fall of the furniture itself or by objects that were on top of them such as televisions, devices, etc.
The other seven cases:
After the first two deaths, IKEA issued an urgent alert and offered free anchors to customers. After the third death he proceeded to remove 35 million drawers in the United States and Canada, although logically there is still furniture in use.
For these three deaths, the families filed a lawsuit claiming that the design of the dressers is not safe, which made them "Unstable" and "easily overturned", and Ikea had to pay 48 million euros to the families.
In June 2016, a fourth death occurred in 2011 was discovered and three other previous deaths are also reported because of this Ikea chest of drawers in 1989, 2002 and 2007.
And in Spain?
In our country, the MALM chest of drawers is one of the best selling products of the Swedish furniture brand, however after knowing the deaths, Ikea Spain decided not to withdraw it and is still on sale in stores. The company has informed that, although they continue to sell in Spain, those consumers who have purchased it and so wish, can return the product.
Ikea returns to "replicate the awareness protocol with messages in stores, on our website and offering additional security kits to those that already come in our products."
According to a statement that the company announced in June last year:
In Spain, the product will not be withdrawn but it has been decided to replicate the awareness protocol with messages in stores, on our website and offering additional security kits to those that already come in our products. And, as an additional point, by contacting our service providers to raise awareness about the security problem, with the aim of emphasizing customers on the need to secure the product to the wall.
It is not a problem of the product itself, but of the safety measures that must be taken with the use of furniture. For the company, boys and girls are the most important people in the world and the safety of our products is our top priority. Hence all measures aimed at raising awareness or ensuring safety in the use of furniture.
