Preview Newsletter
MALM DAY 11, JULY 7, 2016
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Chinese Consumers to IKEA: Recall Your Unsafe Furniture
Jul 6, 2016 | YIBADA
By Ana Ablaza
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Ikea Issues Recall on Some Kids Furniture
Jul 6, 2016 | Parent Co
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IKEA Recalls Dressers Amid Tip Over Concerns
Jul 6, 2016 | The Sanders Law Firm
By Whitney Taylor
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Feldman Shepherd in the News After IKEA Dresser Recall
Jul 6, 2016 | Feldman Shepherd
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Blame often lies in the mirror
Jul 6, 2016 | Innisfail Province
By Darlana Robertson
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IKEA to Give Refunds for Dressing Tables
Jul 7, 2016 | The Chosunilbo
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What IKEA Dressers Are Recalled After Death of Children?
Jul 7, 2016 | SoCal Injury Lawyers
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Ikea recalls dressers but continues to offer them
Jul 7, 2016 | Korea JoongAng Daily
By Kim Jee-Hee
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The tip-over effect
Jul 7, 2016 | Global Times
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Ikea should treat Chinese customers with respect
Jul 7, 2016 | Global Times
By Zhang Qin
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Thursday, July 7, 2016
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Chinese Consumers to IKEA: Recall Your Unsafe Furniture
Jul 6, 2016 | YIBADA
By Ana Ablaza
Many Chinese consumers are demanding IKEA to issue a recall on their chests and drawers in China.
IKEA, a Swedish furniture maker, has already announced the recall of 36 million unstable chests and drawers in Canada and the United States. This came after the deaths of six children that were linked to IKEA's Malm line that included various chests and dressers for children and adults. The firm implemented the recall after the release of an order by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Like Us on FacebookAccording to the CPSC, a child was killed every two weeks because of furniture tipping over.
IKEA, on the other hand, had already received 41 complaints from buyers of the Malm line chests and drawers. A child in Pennsylvania died when a six-drawer dresser fell on him. Another 23-month-old boy was killed in Washington after getting pinned down by a three-drawer Malm dresser.
Some Chinese consumers used social media to express their concerns and many of them felt that IKEA was discriminating them. They wondered why the recall policy was not applied outside of North America and Canada.
Xian Jiaxin, an IKEA representative in China, said that the Malm line of chests and dressers are still available in outlets across the country. She assured the public that the products are safe, provided that these are fastened to the wall. Clear instructions come with the packaging of the product.
Chinese regulations state that all furniture that have a height of more than 24 inches must be fastened to the wall. However, the Shenzhen Consumer Council still called for "equal and nondiscriminatory protection in any country and any place," in a statement issued last Thursday.
Further investigation will be conducted by the council to look into the safety of the products.
IKEA has not yet issued any response.
Read more: http://en.yibada.com/articles/138722/20160706/chinese-consumers-ikea-recall-unsafe-furniture.htm#ixzz4DjBpkUFr -
Ikea Issues Recall on Some Kids Furniture
Jul 6, 2016 | Parent Co
Ikea has issued a recall for at least 29 million chests and dressers that can easily tip over onto children, injuring or killing them.
The furniture giant said Monday that after the three deaths of three children it is no longer selling its “Malm” series products because they “could be a danger,” Ikea USA president Lars Peterson told NBC News.
The announcement comes after an anchor campaign last year — and amid staggering statistics: every 24 minutes, a child is sent to the emergency room by a falling piece of furniture or a television, according the federal government’s watchdog agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Every two weeks, a child dies.
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IKEA Recalls Dressers Amid Tip Over Concerns
Jul 6, 2016 | The Sanders Law Firm
By Whitney Taylor
The deaths of six children have prompted IKEA to recall more than 35 million dressers due to tip-over risk.
The last death occurred in February when a 22-month-old child was killed after a dresser fell on top of him. People that have been injured or lost loved one due to furniture tip-overs like these may be eligible to receive legal reparations for injuries and losses.IKEA recalls 8 million dressers
The IKEA dresser recall includes around eight million MALM dressers and chests, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The MALM pieces were manufactured and sold through June 2016. The recall includes 3-drawer, 4-drawer, 5-drawer and 6-drawer models. Other dressers included in the recall were also sold through June 2016 and were found not to pass U.S. performance requirements in regards to safety.
Three of the reported deaths were linked specifically to MALM dressers, while the other three were caused by other types of IKEA dressers. In addition, the Swedish furniture manufacturer received 41 reports of tip-over incidents involving MALM, which led to 17 injuries to children. There were also 41 reports of tip-over incidents involving other types of dressers, which caused 19 injuries to children.
Consumers with any of the dressers on the product recall list are advised to immediately stop using pieces that are not anchored to a wall and move them out of any area accessible to children. Consumers that purchased their dressers in 2002 or after are eligible for a full refund for their piece or a free anchoring kit to secure the dresser to the wall. Those who purchased their dresser prior to 2002 may also be eligible for a partial refund for their piece or a free anchoring kit.
IKEA also states on their website that consumers who are uncomfortable or simply don’t want to anchor their dressers themselves can also contact IKEA to schedule a one-time service call to attach the dresser to the wall. However, the company also assures consumers that the anchoring kit comes with full instructions and everything necessary to successfully do the anchoring as a DIY job as well.Hidden danger of tip-over accidents
Sadly, deaths due to furniture and television tip-overs are not uncommon. According to the CPSC, a child in the U.S. is killed every two weeks from tip-over accidents. The CPSC calls tip-over accidentsone of the “top hidden hazards in the home” on their website.
In 2000, the furniture industry was given a set of voluntary stability standards for the furniture manufactured and sold in the U.S. Those standards have been modified over the years to accommodate new dangers as they arise. In 2009, the standards called for furniture to remain steady when all drawers are open and when up to 50 pounds of weight are placed on a drawer. The theory is that this would keep children safe from accidents up to about the age of five.
At this time, it does not appear there is any real push for mandatory safety rules involving dressers or other types of furniture that could pose a safety risk, such as bookcases and tables. Although these types of furniture do not usually result in fatal accidents, tip-overs can cause serious injury, particularly to small children.
If your child is injured by a piece of furniture that does not meet the voluntary safety standards, legal recourse may be available. Victims may be able to file a lawsuit to secure compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and other non-economic losses.
National product liability lawyers at The Sanders Firm represent individuals who have been harmed or suffered losses due to defective and recalled products. To arrange a FREE case evaluation, call our offices toll-free at: 1.800.FAIR.PLAY.
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Feldman Shepherd in the News After IKEA Dresser Recall
Jul 6, 2016 | Feldman Shepherd
The story of IKEA’s massive recall hit the news cycle heavily last week, warning the owners of 29 million dressers that the products could be placing children at risk. It was the first time many Americans became aware that the popular dressers had been linked to the deaths of at least six children.
In reporting the news, organizations turned to Feldman Shepherd, the law firm leading the legal fight against IKEA on behalf of three children who have lost their lives in dresser tip-over accidents. Attorney Alan Feldman was quoted in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, among others.
Feldman noted something significant to the Times that went unmentioned in recall announcements by IKEA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission: a seventh child death involving an IKEA dresser. That child, Katie Lambert, died in 2005, and the incident wasdescribed in detail by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
That case resulted in a $2.3 million settlement after the family took legal action.
The IKEA recall is far and away the largest in the history of the CPSC — nearly three times the size of the next largest furniture recall.
Feldman Shepherd is urging the parents of any child injured by an overturned dresser, whether IKEA or any other brand, to contact the firm. The attorneys can be reached at (844) 480-0100 or by filling out the form on this page.
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Blame often lies in the mirror
Jul 6, 2016 | Innisfail Province
By Darlana Robertson
Last month I wrote a column about the lack of personal responsibility that seems rampant in our society, and on the rise. It seems as though a lack of personal accountability does not stop with responsibility for our actions, but inaction as well.
Back in February, Pfizer, the maker of Advil, issued a voluntary recall for 126 lots of their product designed for children and infants. Apparently the recall was due to “clumps” of ibuprofen that could form in the bottle and inconsistent dosage if the bottle was not shaken before use, as per the bottle instructions. So they recalled all of that product because people could not, or would not, read and follow simple instructions.
Fast-forward to last week when furniture giant IKEA issued a voluntary recall for their MALM dressers after another toddler was crushed to death when it fell, bringing the gruesome toll up to three since 2014.
As horrible and tragic as these incidents were, a recall seems a little misguided. Apparently the issue was identified by IKEA last May and, despite including mounting hardware with any furniture that could pose a tipping hazard, decided to offer an additional “kit” that was free to any customers that had purchased the products. What all of the outraged, torch and pitchfork waving zealots online with a justice boner and an axe to grind seem to forget, or may not know, is that IKEA includes directions and cautionary warnings to mount the unit to walls to avoid tipping. They are even shown using images, so the message is more or less universal.
In the directions for the MALM side tables for instance, standing just over two feet tall, mounting instructions were numbers 12-15 on page 10. It’s almost like the mounting hardware and warnings were included for a reason.
I think, despite the inevitability of a class-action suit from litigious customers, both IKEA and Advil should have stood firm. These recalls are giving consumers carte blanche permission to completely disregard instructions, then hold the company liable for the inevitable fallout.
It also sets a dangerous precedent where any company could be held liable for anything that happens to a customer for the life of their product, which is laughably unreasonable.
Next we’ll be hearing about someone suing the makers of drywall when they fail to hold up mounted televisions because the customer didn’t bother to find a stud.
Our society is descending into a state where we look for blame everywhere except to where it often lies -- in the mirror. No one wants to think his or her oversight or inaction caused a tragic accident, but blaming everyone else is not the answer.
I like an underdog as much as the next person, and I’ll often crusade for the little guy, but I think it’s high time these companies rolled up their sleeves, pulled out their chequebooks, and put their legal teams to work instead of accepting blame that is not theirs to accept.
Darlana Robertson is a twentysomething writer from Calgary and a former Central Alberta resident.
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IKEA to Give Refunds for Dressing Tables
Jul 7, 2016 | The Chosunilbo
IKEA has decided to give refunds to Korean customers who have bought dressing tables and chests that have fallen over and killed several children in North America.
IKEA will give refunds to all buyers of the MALM series of bedroom dressers and chests, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The Swedish furniture giant has already recalled the MALM series in the U.S. and Canada.
The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards started an investigation on Monday, asking IKEA to report how many MALM chests have been sold in Korea and if it has any plan to give refunds to customers or recall them.
But an IKEA spokesman said this is "not a formal recall." "There will be no announcement on the website or report on how many have been sold," he added.
Customers who want to return their MALM products can call the customer center at 1670-4532.
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What IKEA Dressers Are Recalled After Death of Children?
Jul 7, 2016 | SoCal Injury Lawyers
Three children have been killed by IKEA dressers, which led the company to issue a recall for specific models that pose similar threats.
Several chests and dressers from the store can tip over — when all drawers are open, the dressers become front-heavy and fall forward. In 2015, after two of the cases had occurred, the company provided owners with hardware to anchor their dressers to the wall in order to prevent any tipping. The latest death has caused IKEA to take further action, and they’ve recalled several styles of dressers because they have realized that not all of their customers have or will install the safety hardware.
At least two of the three deaths have been associated with the MALM dresser, and, as such, the company has issued a recall for all versions of the product:MALM 3-drawer dresserMALM 4-drawer dresserMALM 5-drawer dresserMALM 6-drawer dresserMALM 6-drawer upright dresserMALM 5-drawer upright dresser
The recall affects both children’s and adult’s versions of the MALM dresser: affected children’s dressers measure at 23.5 inches or higher, while affected adults’ dressers measure at 29.5 inches or higher.
Though the MALM dressers are in the spotlight, IKEA has extended its recall to include any design style that could have the same potential to tip. In order to qualify for the recall, a dresser will have product date code lower than 1622. This can be located on the product label, which is typically found inside of the top or on the side frame of the unit; the product code is on the left-hand side of the label. The affected models span several years of design and sale, which explains why more than 100 styles are included.
IKEA will still allow owners of these dressers to keep their furniture, so long as they install the hardware to anchor them to the wall. Otherwise, the company can offer owners a full or partial warranty.
These accidents prove that even the safest places can still cause us harm. Should a product meant to make your house a home injure a loved one, you should understand your legal options and exercise them confidently. Our Los Angeles premises liability lawyer resources — or a phone call to us directly at (800) 950-7755 — will give you the information you need in order to move forward and, eventually, move on.
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Ikea recalls dressers but continues to offer them
Jul 7, 2016 | Korea JoongAng Daily
By Kim Jee-Hee
Ikea, the Sweden-based furniture and home accessories retailer, announced that it will recall in Korea dressers that are prone to tip over. It had limited the recall to North America prior to its announcement Wednesday.
The Korea Consumer Agency was unhappy because the recall and refunds will only be given to customers who request it, and the dangerous dresser will continue to be sold in Korea.
In North America, the furniture company is providing refunds on roughly 35.6 million dressers sold and it has discontinued sales of all the model involved. For customers who want to keep the dressers, Ikea is offering to send workmen to their homes to anchor the dressers to walls.
“The dressers have caused deaths and we think the products contain critical defects regardless of whether actual deaths happened in Korea or not,” a spokesperson of the Korea Consumer Agency said. “We are asking for a complete recall, meaning discontinuing sales of the product in the market.”
MALM dressers, a popular low-cost model, tipped over and killed three children in North America in the past two years. Following the death of the third child in February, the company announced a recall plan on June 28 of MALM and other models.
The recalls were only offered to customers in North America.
Thus, Korea Consumer Agency and Korea Agency for Technology and Standards, two institutions in charge of consumer safety and product evaluation, demanded Ikea execute recalls in Korea.
Ikea responded on Wednesday saying it will give refunds if customers ask for them.
On Ikea Korea’s website Thursday, there was no official notice of the recall. An online banner read, “We all want our home to be a safe place.” When you click on the banner, it leads to a page that explains how to anchor dressers to the walls and gives a phone number of its customer center.
“The purpose of a recall is to remove problematic products from the market. If Ikea continues to sell MALM dressers in Korea, the dangers will continue,” the spokesman from the consumer agency said.
The Korea Consumer Agency is preparing measures to force the Swedish company to implement the same level of recall as in North America. The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards is also preparing a safety test on dressers sold in Korea. Ikea maintained it is discussing recall measures with the two institutions.
Past cases of discrimination that angered Korean customers include Volkswagen’s failure to compensate customers after its emissions-rigging scandal. -
Jul 7, 2016 | Global Times
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced recently that the IKEA Group had agreed to recall 35.6 million MALM chests and dressers sold in North America.
The furniture was prone to tip over and trap children underneath. Since 1989, these defective drawers have caused the deaths of six children and injured 36. IKEA has also received up to 82 relevant accident reports. The MALM chest was one of the group's best-selling items.
Although IKEA agreed to recall the chests in North America, it has not recalled these products elsewhere. At present 22 types of the MALM chest involved in the accidents are sold in China.
Installation service
On Monday, a reporter from the Youth Daily called the Beicai branch of IKEA in Shanghai. The customer service officer explained that customers who have bought the chests will be offered an installation service, which attaches the chest to a wall and prevents it from tipping over. However not every chest needs to be attached to a wall.Some of these chests are prone to tip over. Photo: CFP
"Only the adult-style chests above 90 cm and children's chests above 60 cm need to be attached to a wall," the officer said. If asked, the store would offer the on-site installation for free as long as customers provided the product code and specifications of their purchase.
In the official IKEA website the MALM series (including the two-drawer, three-drawer and six-drawer chests) are listed as "new arrivals" and the prices range from 299 yuan ($44.77) to 999 yuan.
IKEA China told news media that these products were safe when attached to a wall. The MALM chest meets the national furniture standards of China. The reason that IKEA recalled the MALM chests in the US and Canada was that there are different criteria in North America and the regulations there demand that the chests cannot tip over even if they are not attached to a wall.
On June 30, the IKEA Weibo account advised that furniture should be fixed firmly to the wall to make a home safe. In this post, IKEA explained that the recall of chests in North America was based on the ASTM standard adopted there. IKEA's chests fit the standards set by the EU and other countries.
However IKEA has launched a "fix firmly" campaign and has suggested customers check if their chests and dressers are properly attached to a wall as the installation manual recommends. Customers who have problems can call IKEA for free anchor kits.
Netizens complain
Some netizens have complained that IKEA's response discriminates against Chinese customers and pledged not to buy any more furniture from IKEA.
Others blamed the national furniture standards, which, they claimed, gave IKEA a loophole and suggested the standards be tightened. And some used the story as a way of criticizing Chinese furniture - their arguments went that if even IKEA, a world-famous furniture company's chests are defective, the quality of Chinese-made chests would only be worse.
The Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection And Quarantine Bureau announced on its WeChat account Monday that Shanghai's quality inspection authorities have questioned IKEA (China) Investment Co., Ltd about why IKEA recalled chests in North America but excluded China. The authorities said IKEA had to take the primary responsibility for safety and examine the products' potential hazards to guarantee consumers' personal and property safety.
Yesterday IKEA's public relations department said IKEA Shanghai hadn't received any instructions to recall the chests or take them off the shelves. They are still being sold.
The quality inspection authorities said they would check the situation further and urged IKEA to obey Chinese laws and regulations and safeguard Chinese consumers' rights.
IKEA responds
The Xinmin Evening News questioned IKEA about the controversy:
Q: After being questioned by Shanghai authorities, is IKEA planning to recall the MALM chests? What was discussed?
A: We have provided relevant departments with a description of the situation regarding the recall of the chests in North America.
Q: There is a clause in China's Consumer Protection Law: When business owners discover defects in their products or services, which may endanger the safety of persons or property, they shall report this to the relevant administrative departments immediately and inform their consumers; and also take measures like stopping sales, issuing warnings, making recalls, eliminating the danger, destroying (the goods), stopping production or stopping service.
If something is recalled, business owners should reimburse consumers for any expenses incurred in the recall. Will IKEA unconditionally recall all MALM chests sold in China under this clause?
A: Furniture tipping over is a serious home safety problem for the whole furniture industry. Fixing furniture to the wall is an effective and basic method to avoid furniture tipping over. Therefore, according to the compulsory product quality standards in the EU and China, IKEA's chest is equipped with instructions that the chests should be attached to a wall to avoid tipping over.
IKEA's chest is safe when it's installed correctly and attached to a wall as per the instruction manual. It has been 10 years since IKEA began insisting that consumers fix the chests to a wall. Since then IKEA has used product manuals, labels and installation instructions to warn consumers about the tipping hazard if the product is not attached to a wall. So far, we have not received any reports of accidents involving this product in China.
Q: Since the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau has been working together with quality inspection authorities on this, are the MALM chests imported?
A: It doesn't matter whether the product is imported or domestic, IKEA will guarantee that the product meets the relevant standards of the country it is sold in.
Q: How many similar chests of drawers have been sold in China?
A: We do not have specific sales data for the chests, because they belong to a broader category of products. -
Ikea should treat Chinese customers with respect
Jul 7, 2016 | Global Times
By Zhang Qin
Home is usually regarded as a synonym for relaxation, security and safety. However, what would happen if furniture in your home turned out to be potentially hazardous or fatal? Recently, IKEA recalled its popular MALM series of chests and dressers in North America due to serious tip-over hazards.
IKEA stated that any MALM furniture not attached to a wall should be kept away from children. North American customers who purchased the MALM are eligible for a free anchor kit. Customers can also apply for a refund if they bought it between 2002 and 2016.
According to international media reports, since 1989 IKEA's MALM and other editions of their dressers have caused at least six child deaths worldwide and injured many more. IKEA finally recalled over 29 million MALM chests and dressers in North America.
However, Chinese customers are not eligible for the same recall. IKEA flatly refused to stop selling the MALM and other dangerous home furnishings in China. According to a statement by IKEA China, MALM meets "China's quality and safety criteria," which as we all know are much lower than in North America or Europe.
The differences between how IKEA treats North American and Chinese customers is appallingly racist and nothing short of insulting. Despite the huge gap in quality and safety standards between the Chinese and Western governments, when it comes to human lives there should be no difference. Yes, there are "gray areas" in law, policy and regulation in China, but this is still an unacceptable reason for IKEA to shirk their responsibility of guaranteeing Chinese customer's safety, just so that they can save some money.
Many Chinese people seem to regard IKEA as a bastion of high-quality Scandinavian design made with care by quality-conscious Europeans. Since its arrival in China 15 years ago, the company has seen massive success, becoming the largest foreign commercial landowner in China. In fiscal 2012, turnover exceeded 5 billion yuan ($748 million) from 15 million customers attracted to its affordable particleboard furniture.
What most Chinese are unaware of, however, is that IKEA is a notorious cost-cutter. The Swedish furniture company was recently accused by the Ministers of the European Parliament of avoiding more than €1 billion in taxes between 2009 and 2014. IKEA is also known for its worldwide furniture recalls due to constant safety and design flaws. Just yesterday, July 6, IKEA recalled over 7,600 child safety gates in China alone. But child gates are much cheaper to ship back to Sweden than the large MALM chests are. For IKEA, the bottom line is apparently a higher priority than customer safety.
In my opinion, any foreign importer to China whose product has a known safety issue or defective design that can potentially endanger personal safety should not only be recalled but immediately banned from sale here. Relevant Chinese authorities should amend and ratify higher safety standards to prevent such incidents from happening again. If customers in the United States, Canada and Europe have the right to safety and quality, why shouldn't China?
Does IKEA regard us as a land of "newly rich peasants" where they can unload their recalled goods from other countries? It seems so.
Additionally, I would call on all Chinese IKEA customers to bring back any product they purchased in the past 15 years that has been recalled in other countries and demand a cash refund under threat of litigation. This would force IKEA to finally take corporate and social responsibility in China. For far too long that company has treated China as a cash cow. Now it's time to start treating us with consideration and respect or risk losing our confidence - and our money.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Thursday, July 7, 2016
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