- Ted McGee, 22 months old, was killed by an Ikea Malm dresser in February
- He was the third child to be killed in a Malm tip-over accident since 2014
- All three families were awarded $50m to split equally between them Wednesday
- The company recalled 29 million dangerous dressers six months ago
- But it has been aware of the risks to children of Malm tippings for years
- 14 Malm tippings were reported from 1989-2015, with 4 injuries and 5 deaths
 |
| Ted McGee |
Ikea has agreed to pay $50 million to the parents of three toddlers who were killed when the company's dressers - the now recalled Malm range - toppled over onto them.
'We would never want other parents to have to experience what we have been forced to endure,' said Janet McGee of Apple Valley, Minnesota, whose 22-month-old son Ted died after a Malm dresser fell over on him in February.
'This has been a tragic, heartbreaking season for us and our family, and no amount of money will make up for the loss of our sweet little boy,' she told Philly.com.
All three of the children named in the suit had been killed by the Swedish company's Malm dressers, which could become top-heavy and fall over if not secured to walls.
The company had previously offered kits to secure the dressers, as well as running an awareness campaign.
Six months ago it made the unprecedented step of recalling 29 million dangerous dressers, millions of which were from the Malm range.
Theodore 'Ted' McGee was killed when the tall, six-drawer Malm dresser bought by parents Jeremy and Janet fell on him in their home on February 22.
They had thought the boy was napping at the time and didn't realize an accident had occurred until it was too late, attorney Alan Feldman told Philly.com in April. 'They didn't hear the dresser fall,' he said. 'They didn't hear Ted scream.'
In February 2014, two-year-old Curran Collas of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed when a six-drawer Malm dresser he was attempting to climb fell on top of him.
And four months later another two-year-old, Camden Ellis of Snohomish, Washington, died after four days on a ventilator after a smaller, three-drawer version of the Malm dresser pinned him.
All three children were named in the suit.
Post a Comment