New York- Ikea has agreed to pay 50 million dollars to the families of three toddlers who were killed in the United States when dressers sold by the Swedish furniture giant tipped over, the families’ law firm said Wednesday.
The money will be divided evenly among the three families, Philadelphia-based law firm Feldman Shepherd said.
Ikea will donate an additional 250,000 dollars to children’s hospitals and to a child safety non-profit group focused on preventing furniture tip-overs, according to the statement.
The Swedish firm confirmed that a “tentative settlement” had been reached, but did not comment further, saying that the deal had not yet been approved by the court.
Four deaths were associated with the company’s “MALM” dressers, according to a November notice posted on Ikea’s website and the company recalled 29 million chests and dressers.
“The recalled chests and dressers are unstable if they are not properly anchored to the wall, posing a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children,” it said.
As part of the settlement, the company would increase funding for a programme raising awareness of tip-over risks and would sell in the US only chests and dressers that meet a voluntary industry safety standard, the statement from Feldman Shepherd said.
Earlier this month, Ikea reported a nearly 20-per-cent increase in full-year net profit, to 4.2 billion euros (4.5 billion dollars).
The Swedish retailer’s top five markets in the 2016 financial year, ending in August, were Germany, the US, France, Britain and Sweden.
-dpa
