On March 4, 2020, IKEA issued a recall for their KULLEN 3-drawer chests. According to the recall, number 20-085, the recalled chests are unstable if they are not anchored to a wall; this poses a tip-over and entrapment risk that could lead to serious injuries or even death to children. In addition, the drawer chests imported after August 12, 2019 do not comply with U.S. performance requirements. Overall, the recall has affected approximately 820,000 units in the U.S. and another 150,000 in Canada.
The KULLEN 3-drawer chest is 28 3/8 inches tall and weighs approximately 45 pounds. It was sold in black-brown as well as in birch colors. The recalled drawer chests are associated with three article numbers, which include the following: 600-930-58 (birch), 501-637-54 (black-brown), and 803-221-34 (black-brown). On the underside of the top panel (or inside the side panel), the IKEA logo, a 5-digit supplier number, and a 4-digit date stamp can be found.
The defective drawer chests were sold exclusively at IKEA stores nationwide, as well as online via ikea-usa.com from April 2005 to December 2019 for approximately $60 each.
According to the company, there have been at least six reports of tip-over incidents involving drawer chests that were not anchored to the wall; one report included a minor cut and another included minor cuts and bruises.
IKEA is urging consumers to stop using the recalled drawer chests if they are not anchored to the wall properly, place them in area inaccessible to children, and contact them for either a free wall-attachment kit or a full refund.
Should you follow IKEA’s recommendations? If your child suffered harm associated with a defective chest drawer, you should never consider following these suggestions. Instead, you should explore the possibility of taking legal action; you might have grounds to pursue a product liability claim.
If you are in need of legal assistance, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at your earliest convenience. The product liability lawyers at Normandie Law Firm are ready to provide you with the guidance that you need to hold IKEA accountable for the harm that their products caused. Our lawyers have many years of experience handling defective product claims and helping affected consumers recover the compensation that they are owed. If you are ready to discuss your claim with our experts, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
The Harm Associated with Defective Drawer Chests
Unfortunately, defective drawer chests can be very dangerous to young children. Young children are very curious and have no real sense of danger. If there is something that catches their attention, they will do whatever they can to get it. For example, if there is a toy on the drawer chest, they might try to climb the drawer chest to reach the toy. Similarly, if the drawer chest is next to a bed that the child can’t normally reach, the child might climb the drawer chest in attempts to get onto the bed. To do so, children typically open the drawers in the chest, which means that the weight is shifted forward. When the weight of the child is added, the drawer chests simply tip forward, falling on the children.
Children can suffer significant harm if a drawer chest falls on them, leaving them entrapped. Crushing injuries, without a doubt, are possible. Broken bones, sprains, strains, cuts, and bruises are also possible. Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries could also result from a tip-over incident. The weight of the drawer chest could also result in suffocation, which can lead to brain damage and can be fatal if prolonged. Without a doubt, the harm that innocent children could suffer because of these dangerous products is significant.
Your Right to Sue based on Product Liability
Based on product liability, all companies owe their consumers a specific duty of care. They have the duty to ensure that their products are completely safe for consumers to use. If they fail to ensure the safety of their products by identifying and addressing any potential hazards present, they are breaching their duty of care. This breach of duty could directly contribute to the harm that an innocent consumer could suffer. Based on product liability, companies can be liable for the harm that their consumers suffered given that the harm was associated with a breached duty of care.
This means that affected consumers could pursue claims. Based on the concept of product liability, consumers could file defective product lawsuits against at-fault companies. If you would like to learn more about product liability and the right to pursue a product liability claim, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at your earliest convenience.
What Should You Do?
Unfortunately, consumers being harmed by defective products is very common. Because it is possible to be harmed by a defective product at any time, all consumers should be familiar with the specific actions that they should take immediately after an incident that results in harm. Consider the following recommendations:
- Take photos of all visible, physical injuries suffered
- Take photos of the defective product
- Seek a medical evaluation immediately
- Place the defective product somewhere inaccessible to children
- Keep the defective product as-is, do not try to repair it in any way
- Contact the company to report the incident and harm suffered
- Do not agree to a refund
- Do not agree to a free repair
- Do not agree to a free replacement
- Do not agree to return the defective product
- Gather all relevant medical records (including expenses)
- Gather all purchase records
- Gather surveillance footage, if available
- Seek legal assistance immediately
If you would like to learn more about the importance of following these steps after you or a member of your family suffered harm associated with a defective product, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm immediately.
You Could Recover Monetary Compensation
Depending on the details surrounding your claim, you could be eligible to recover monetary compensation for the harm that your child suffered associated with the defective product. Some of the categories of compensation that are sometimes available for recovery include the following: medical expenses; lost earnings; pain and suffering; property damage; funeral and burial costs; loss of consortium; punitive damages. If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to recover if your claim reaches a successful outcome, do not hesitate to contact our defective product attorneys today. Our experts are ready to aggressively fight to help you and your family recover the compensation that you deserve.
The Statute of Limitations
Although you might have the right to sue based on the details surrounding the specific incident, you could lose your right to sue. If you lose your right to sue, IKEA might never be held accountable for their negligence in association with the defective drawer chests that were recently recalled. How could you lose your right to sue? All claims, including product liability claims, are subject to a statute of limitations which determines the specific length of time that claimants have to sue. If claims aren’t filed on time, claimants will lose all rights to sue.
What deadline applies to your claim? In California, product liability claims are typically subject to a two-year statute of limitations – meaning that claimants only have two years to file their claims. It is often important to note that certain exceptions to this strict deadline could apply. Specifically, in cases in which a child suffered injuries (but survived), parents can choose not to sue; once the child is a legal adult, he or she could pursue a claim independently. In other words, the applicable statute of limitations could be tolled.
To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the total length of time that you have to pursue your product liability claim, do not hesitate to contact the experts at our law firm immediately. Our lawyers are ready to provide you with all the information that you might need to file your claim on time.
Contact Normandie Law Firm Today
If your child was harmed by a defective drawer chest (like those recently recalled by IKEA), you might have grounds to pursue a claim. You could sue the company that negligently contributed to the harm that your child suffered. After your child suffers harm because of a defective product, you should immediately seek legal assistance. You can trust the experts at Normandie Law Firm. Normandie Law Firm is a personal injury law firm experienced in product liability claims. Our product liability lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and help you take action against IKEA for the harm that your child suffered.
At Normandie Law Firm, we are dedicated to providing all consumers with the legal assistance that they need to hold liable companies accountable for their negligent actions. We understand that many affected consumers are intimidated by the thought of expensive legal costs and whatnot. To remain accessible to all, our firm offers free legal services, which include free consultations and free second opinions. During our free consultation and free second opinions, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns – ensuring that you have access to all the information necessary to pursue your claim against the company that negligently contributed to the harm suffered. If you are ready to benefit from our free legal services and to start the process towards suing IKEA, do not hesitate to contact our firm at your earliest convenience.
Our firm offers a Zero-Fee guarantee that ensures that our clients will never be required to pay any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Our firm is also based on contingency; therefore, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a successful claim outcome. If your child was harmed by a defective product and you are considering taking legal action, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
