FURNITURE DEFECTS

When considering the purchase of a television or piece of furniture, most consumers never consider the safety element or hazards involved with certain consumer products. With that said, due to hundreds of reports of furniture accidents and related injuries, consumers cannot assume that any furniture bought at reputable stores is safe.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that each year over 2 million people are treated for injuries caused by dangerous furniture defects. Reported injuries have involved faulty bookcases, dresser accident, desks, chairs, bureaus, televisions and defective office equipment.

Furniture may tip over because it is defectively designed or manufactured. Many pieces of furniture are inherently dangerous, and are designed and constructed poorly. Poor construction can have serious consequences, and many times, heavier more expensive furniture is the safer option. Cheaper furniture is more likely to break or fall, causing injuries to both children and adults.

A common problem is that furniture is not designed to be tip-resistant, and manufacturers put the onus on consumers to protect themselves with additional safety measures like screwing dressers to walls.

A 2011 Consumer Product Safety Commission report on instability of televisions, furniture defects and appliances shows that almost 300 children died in preventable furniture accidents between 2000 and 2010. Furniture tip-over accidents include internal organ injuries, lacerations, fractures and burns. The majority of severe injuries are to the head.

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Ohio product liability lawyer representing plaintiffs nationwide in a wide variety of consumer product liability and furniture defects cases. 

Furniture Tip-Over Accidents

Not all furniture is created equally, and some may be a lot more dangerous than advertised. Children can easily test the limits of safety, as they begin to climb and touch home furnishings.

Some of the scariest furniture accidents can be when young children are crushed or trapped underneath a dresser or chest. Ikea has settled lawsuits following Malm dresser accidents and other product injury.

A recent CPSC report estimated an annual average of 30,700 emergency department-treated injuries associated with furniture accidents and tip-over incidents. Is the furniture industry totally responsible? Many safety experts think the industry has a responsibility to ensure safer, more stable dressers and television safety, and should not rely on consumers to anchor all furniture to a wall.

Personal injury attorneys argue that retailers should take more precautions, and provide anchoring devices with household furniture and large televisions at the point of purchase.

Tip-over incidents are largely preventable. Other defective furniture accidents involve Murphy beds, large appliances, coffee tables, sofas, television stands, cribs, sleepers, and window blinds.

Safety groups recommend that consumers avoid placing TVs on top of dressers. The CPSC says that 53 percent of reported tip-over child fatalities between 2000 and 2016 involved TVs and dressers tipping over. There are basic safety tenants a consumer should follow, though blunt truth is the furniture industry standard leaves too many children at risk.

Folding beach chairs and deck chairs have also been targeted in recent furniture defect lawsuits due to defective design and collapsing chairs that cause serious consumer injury.

Malm Dresser Recalls

Ikea’s more recent recall is the largest furniture recall in U.S. history. According to attorneys, instability and lightweight materials, Ikea’s dressers have allegedly killed at least six children, including two children in 2014, when two kids were killed by Malm chests, prompting Ikea to distribute free anchoring kits. It took a third deadly dresser accident for the company to finally recall the item.

The incident even led to a statement from a Pennsylvania Senator, who called for dresser manufacturers to meet mandatory stability requirements going forward. IKEA settled three wrongful death lawsuits for 50 million dollars.

Other injuries and deaths have been reported as well. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 25,000 children are injured in defective furniture tip-overs.

Hillsdale Dresser Recall

Hillsdale Furniture recalled around 31,000 Chadwick and Bailey five-drawer dressers in December 2019. The dressers were sold at Bob’s Discount Furniture and other retailers. The recall was initiated by the CPSC because the dressers may pose a serious tip-over risk if not anchored to the wall, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Two other companies recalled dresser models around the same time period, highlighting the widespread problem with home furniture. Many products fail stability testing conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Ridgewood Industries (also known as Ameriwood Home) recalled around 1 million Belmont four-drawer dressers sold by Kmart and Sears between April 2013 and September 2019. E&E recalled about 1,800 Ink+Ivy Renu three-drawer dressers, sold online at Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and elsewhere between January 2017 through September 2019.

Both dressers are allegedly unstable if not anchored to a wall, posing tip-over hazards that could result in death or injury, according to the recall notices from the CPSC. The CPSC tested more than 150 dresser models and other consumer clothing storage units this year to determine if they complied with the industry’s stability standard, with the hope of removing unsafe dressers from the market.

Defective Patio Furniture

One of the joys of owning a home is landscaping and creating a nice outside area to relax. But many outdoor products have been recalled for inherent defects, and may pose safety risks. Outside patio furniture can be very expensive, and the cheaper alternatives may be quite dangerous.

Some patio chairs have failed, most of which are made of inferior materials and are poorly designed. Patio chairs break, and patio furniture malfunctions. Some outside patio tables have been recalled for glass shatter hazards. Garden chairs and other outdoor furniture should be constructed to withstand harsh weather.

Though much of the cheaper outside furniture is not so durable and rots quickly. Outside patio candles and torches also seem like a nice homely touch, but they can pose fire and burn injury risks. Patio furniture causes fall and trip hazards, and lawsuits have been filed.

Defective deck chairs, beach chairs, folding chairs and other light seating defects have prompted many consumers and injured plaintiffs to reach out to product liability attorneys and file lawsuits following injuries. Over 11,000 defective deck chairs sold by West Marine were recently recalled because of an alleged design defect that increases an injury and fall risk.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the lock nut that connects the armrest to the chair may loosen, posing consumer fall and injury hazards. The recalled West Marine deck chair was sold from January 2018 through May 2019.

The folding deck chair has metal legs, wood armrests and blue straps, with the company’s “West Marine” logo printed on the armrest. The seat and back are colored in blue nylon fabric. Consumers should stop using the recalled West Marine chairs, and contact a product liability lawyer should any injury occur

Murphy Bed Hazards

A Murphy bed, or a Wall bed, is a bed that is hinged on one side to a wall, allowing it to be folded up against the wall to save space. These types of beds had been around for a long time, and have developed a reputation for potential accident and injury.

Despite new designs and safety regulations to reduce furniture defects, there have been Murphy bed related accidents reported. Even installing or uninstalling a wall bed can be dangerous and consumers may risk injury. In a high-profile story involving furniture defects, a 33-year-old Staten Island man was killed when a Murphy bed being installed in his apartment hit and killed him with a force that crushed his skull and severed his spine.

In another case, a woman died after a Murphy bed she was sleeping in suddenly collapsed and locked shut, resulting in a wrongful death lawsuit against the bed’s manufacturer. The frame of the fold-up bed suddenly pulled away from the wall and struck her in the head and upper torso, according to the claim.

Manufacturers and distributors urge consumers to make sure these beds close properly, and to avoid over-stuffing it with extra pillows and blankets. Too much stuffing can push against the wall and fold down under its own weight. A built-in lock is recommended.

More recently, the CPSC issued a recall for a Murphy bed kit used to secure the wooden wall enclosures to the wall studs because the kit does not provide sufficient bracing support, posing serious tip-over and Entrapment Risk. There have been five reports of the wooden wall enclosure falling from the wall, including one report of injury.

Furniture Accident Lawsuits

Serious accidents involving defective furniture almost always happen unexpectedly. Accidents and injuries are nearly 100 percent preventable if manufacturers take measures to protect consumers, though that is not always the case and thousands of children and sometimes adults are injured each year when defective furniture falls or tips over.

In recent years, even as pressure mounts from safety advocate groups, litigation and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), companies who produce and sell furniture, like IKEA and other furniture giants, have faced lawsuits alleging their defective furniture contributed to or directly caused an injury or wrongful death.

As a result, consumers have been forced to come to grips with the fact that since the companies will not regulate themselves, they must force the issue with defective furniture lawsuits. Consumers with babies and small children are also urged to protect themselves from potential injuries with the following safety measures:

• Purchase low-set furniture
• Seek furniture with sturdy, stable and broad bases
• Look for furniture that comes with safety guides or certifications
• Use equipment for anchoring (attach, mount, bolt) unstable furniture to walls
• Test furniture in the shop to make sure of its stability
• Do not put heavy items like televisions on the top shelves of bookcases
• Prohibit small children from climbing on furniture.
• Do not put tempting items like toys or food on top of furniture
• Do not place unstable furniture in a child’s room
• Put locking devices on drawers and doors to prevent children using them as steps