Toddler Crushed by IKEA Dresser

The parents of a toddler who died after being pinned beneath a toppled IKEA dresser have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the furniture provider, claiming IKEA sold the dresser despite knowing it was unstable.

Camden was taken to the hospital and remained on a ventilator for four days. His parents then removed him from life support.

2-year-old Camden Ellis of Bothell, Washington is the second lawsuit, in less than a year against IKEA, stemming from a fatal tip-over of a Malm dresser.

A similar suit was filed by the mother of Curren Collas, another 2-year-old, who died in February 2014 when a dresser tipped onto him.

IKEA cited the deaths of both boys when the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in July jointly announced a "repair program" involving 27 million dressers. The company said the dressers could become unstable if not secured to the wall, and offered to send replacement restraint kits to customers who bought them.

While a repair program, under the safety commission's laws, is a type of recall, IKEA has taken pains to not use that word, stressing that it has not offered to buy back or replace the units.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for medical expenses, funeral expenses, pain and suffering, and the family's emotional distress.

IKEA, a Swedish company with U.S. headquarters in Conshohocken, PA., declined to comment, citing a policy against discussing ongoing litigation. In a statement, it said: "The safety of our customers is the highest priority at IKEA. We continue to work with the CPSC on the important issue of tip-over safety."

The lawsuit also accuses IKEA of designing and selling dressers that do not meet the furniture industry's safety standard for stability.

Furniture tip-overs - most often from unsecured dressers and televisions - lead to more than 38,000 emergency-room visits in the United States each year, according to the CPSC.

If you were hurt or a loved one died, make the call to the experienced team that can act quickly to set you on the road to recovery. Call Miller Weisbrod, LLP toll free at 888.987.0005 for a free consultation.