Ikea warns customers after a third child is crushed to death
Ikea
Ikea is reissuing a warning about its dressers after a third child was crushed to death.
A 22-month-old in Minnesota named Theodore McGee died in February when Ikea's "Malm" chest of drawers toppled over on him, Today reports.
Ikea warned customers last year that its dressers could topple over unless they were anchored to the wall and urged customers to secure them to protect their children.
The company also offered free anchoring kits in partnership with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to repair the 27 million dressers it had sold that posed a danger to children if left unanchored.
Ikea has distributed more than 300,000 of the kits in the last seven months, the company said.
McGee is the third child who has died from a toppled Ikea dresser in the last two years. Four injuries have also been reported.
A 2-year-old boy from West Chester, Pennsylvania, died last year "after a Malm 6-drawer chest tipped over and pinned him against the bed," according to the CPSC. Another boy was trapped and killed by a 3-drawer Malm chest.
According to the CPSC, a child dies every two weeks from furniture or TVs tipping over. Injuries from falling furniture occur every 24 minutes.
Ikea said it was investigating McGee's death.
"At IKEA, we believe children are the most important people in the world and the safety of our products is our highest priority,'' the company said in a statement to Today. "Upon being informed of this incident, IKEA immediately reported it to the authorities and an investigation is taking place. IKEA has been advised that the product was not attached to the wall, which is an integral part of the products' assembly instructions."
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