If you have young children in your home, it is extremely important to understand the risks associated with certain types of products. In recent years, several furniture tip-over accidents have resulted in serious and fatal injuries involving young children. In some cases, the tip-over accidents lead to a child being suffocated within a piece of furniture, while other incidents involve a toddler sustaining crush injuries when a heavy item like a bookcase tipped over. Prominent furniture makers like IKEA have issued product recalls for dangerous dressers that are at risk of tipping over, and many furniture makers include wall-anchoring kits with heavy furniture designed to prevent a tip-over accident.
According to a recent recall notice from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Home Depot has issued a recall of a dresser that poses a risk of tip-over and entrapment injuries. We want to tell you more about the product recall and to emphasize how important it is to hold furniture makers accountable when they make and sell defectively designed products.
Home Depot Issues Dresser Recall
According to the CPSC recall notice, Home Depot has issued a recall of a furniture product it sold online from May 2015 until December 2019. The product is a dresser: the Home Decorators Collection Print Block 4-Drawer Whitewash Chest. The CPSC notice explains that “the recalled chest is unstable if it is not anchored to the wall, posing serious tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in death or injuries to children.” The CPSC also reported that the dresser is not in compliance with “performance requirements of the U.S. voluntary industry standard” for safety.
Home Depot estimates that about 200 of the dressers were sold online and shipped to various parts of the country. The product sold for approximately $900. Consumers can recognize the product by its model number (#HDC-14012). As the recall notice explains, the dresser is made from mango wood and has a distressed finish, and it is about 44 inches tall and weighs approximately 96 pounds. If you have one of these dressers, you should immediately stop using it and should place it in an area of the house where your child will not have access to it. You should then contact Home Depot for a refund. In addition to a refund, Home Depot will pick up the chest free of charge from your property.
No injuries have yet been reported, but anyone with young children in the house should know about the recall.
Getting the Facts About Furniture Tip-Over Accidents
Beyond this recall, as we mentioned above, furniture tip-over accidents have been causing serious and fatal child injuries for years. The following are some statistics from AnchorIt.gov:
- Since 2000, about 67 percent of tip-over deaths have killed children between the ages of 1 and 3.5;
- About 83 percent of tip-over accidents involve children between the ages of 1 month and 14 years old;
- Approximately 12,500 kids were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal tip-over injuries between 2016 and 2018; and
- Every 43 minutes on average, a child in this country suffers an injury from a tip-over accident.
Contact a Boca Raton Product Liability Lawyer for Assistance
If your child was injured in a tip-over accident, you might be able to file a claim for compensation. An experienced Boca Raton product liability lawyer can help. Contact Lesser Lesser Landy & Smith PLLC for more information about filing a product liability claim in Florida.
Resources:
anchorit.gov/why-anchor-it/
cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/home-depot-recalls-4-drawer-whitewash-chests-due-to-tip-over-and-entrapment-hazards
https://lesserlawfirm.com/gm-recalls-trucks-due-to-risk-of-seat-belt-fire/
