Children’s Dressers Recalled Over Tipping Deaths

Two furniture suppliers have voluntarily recalled thousands of children’s dressers due to a potential tipping hazard linked to several deaths.

Three toddlers died after dressers tipped over on them, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The CPSC says the dressers pose a risk of entrapment and serious injury if a young child climbs up the open drawers. When the dresser’s drawers are pulled all the way out and the additional weight of a young child is applied, it alters the dresser's center of gravity and could cause it to tip over. A child might be injured or suffocated under the fallen dresser’s weight.

The CPSC and Gemme Juvenile received a report of the death of a two-year-old Illinois boy who reportedly suffocated when his dresser fell over and trapped him against the floor when he climbed onto an opened drawer. The company recalled around 300 of its three-drawer NatArt Chelsea children’s dressers.

Bexco Enterprises Inc., dba Million Dollar Baby, also announced a voluntary recall of 18,000 of its children’s four-drawer dressers for a tipping hazard. CPSC and Million Dollar Baby received two reports of deaths linked to the dresser. An 11-month-old boy from Oklahoma and a 20-month-old girl from California are reported to have suffocated when their dressers tipped and trapped them between the dresser and the floor. However, the cause of the deaths is yet to be determined.

Consumers should immediately stop using the dressers and keep them out of a child’s reach. Both companies are offering free kits to retrofit the dressers with tip-over restraints.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by an unsafe product, contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation and to find out if a product liability lawyer may be able to help you.

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