Rooms To Go Children’s Dressers Recalled Due To Tip-Over Hazard

Product Recalls - June 5, 2024

Mill Valley Jr. Six-Drawer Youth Dressers Sold By Rooms To Go Recalled Over Safety Concerns They Can Tip-Over and Injure Children

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (June 4, 2024) – The Mill Valley Jr. six-drawer youth dressers sold by furniture store Rooms To Go have been recalled over a tip-over and entrapment hazard.

The recall was issued by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The problem with the recalled dressers is that they are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall.

This can lead to them tipping over and injuring small children. Among other things, the dressers violate performance standards mandated by the STURDY Act.

The STURDY Act is a law that aims to improve the safety of dressers and other free-standing furniture that poses a risk to children in the event it tips over.

If you are unsure if your Rooms To Go dressers are part of the recall, you can check the white label on the back. Affected units have model numbers C2192Y-N04 and C2193Y-N04.

The Rooms To Go dressers come in a white and cherry variant.

Liability For Dresser Tip-Over Accidents 

Accidents where children are injured by falling dressers may seem like freak occurrences, but they are unfortunately all too common. According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, “In 2019, 11,521 children visited the emergency department for injuries from furniture or TV tip-overs. That’s one child every 46 minutes. Furniture and TV tip-overs cause the most injuries for children younger than 6 years of age, with a peak at 2 years old.” The STURDY Act was passed to reduce tip-over accidents and impose requirements on furniture manufacturers.

• Stability Standards: Manufacturers must ensure that dressers and similar clothing storage units meet enhanced stability standards.
• Testing Requirements: Furniture must undergo rigorous testing to prove stability on various surfaces, including carpet and hard floors. The furniture must still be stable even with all drawers open.
• Warning Labels: The law requires manufacturers to place a clear warning label on furniture to inform consumers about the risk of tip-overs.
• Height and Weight Criteria: The requirements apply to all chests, drawers, bureaus, wardrobes, and dressers that are (1) 27 inches or higher, AND (2) 30 lbs or greater, AND contain 3.2 cubic feet or greater of enclosed storage volume.
• Recall and Reporting Obligations: In the event of non-compliance or tip-over incidents, manufacturers must report incidents and are subject to recalls.

Depending on the facts of any case, a company that manufactured a faulty dresser drawer could be liable for accidents. Under strict liability, the manufacturer can be held responsible if a dresser was sold in a defective condition that made it unreasonably dangerous to the consumer. In this instance, the injured party does not need to demonstrate negligence, only that the product was defective and caused harm. A furniture manufacturer could also be liable for breach of warranty if they made explicit or implicit promises about the safety of a product that they failed to meet.

Consider, for example, one lawsuit against IKEA for the tragic death of 2-year-old Jozef Dudek. He was killed when an unsecured IKEA dresser fell on top of him. Attorneys for the child’s family argued that the MALM dresser was “inherently unstable.” Plaintiffs attorneys argued that IKEA knew that the dressers were unsafe and still failed to take any action. The child’s family purchased the dress in 2008 and never received notice that it was recalled. IKEA eventually reached a $46 million settlement with the boy’s family. Children may suffer a variety of serious injuries from tip-over accidents including:

• Concussions: Children may receive concussions resulting from a direct blow to the head.
• Skull Fractures: The bones in the head of a child are still developing at a young age. A heavy impact from a falling dresser drawer can cause a serious skull fracture.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: A heavy object falling on top of a child can break neck and spine vertebrae. This can have long-term implications, including paralysis and permanent disability.
• Limb Injuries: A number of children have suffered broken bones in their arms, legs, hands, and feet.
• Airway Obstruction: The heavy weight of a dresser drawer on top of a child can result in asphyxiation and suffocation.

Younger children tend to be at much greater risk of being injured by dresser drawers. Children are naturally curious and are known to climb on furniture. Despite the fact that furniture makers know children behave like this, far too little has been done to prevent tip-over accidents. When a child is injured, these same companies will do everything in their power to deny responsibility for what took place. This may include blaming the children or their parents for what happened. It is important that victims of these accidents understand that they do have rights. The family of any child that is injured or killed by a falling dresser may be able to seek some measure of justice through a civil claim.

Getting Legal Help After Dresser Tip-Over Accidents

We at Horwitz Horwitz & Associates were deeply concerned to hear about the issues with the Mill Valley Jr. six-drawer youth dressers sold by furniture store Rooms To Go. This recall is an important step towards protecting the public. But there is more that needs to be done to ensure that furniture makers are compliant with the STURDY Act. The pursuit of profit should never become more important than protecting innocent children.

If your child has been injured by a falling dresser, you may have legal recourse. Our team of product liability attorneys is here to help in any way that we can. We are committed to helping accident victims and working to protect the public from unsafe consumer goods. Whether you just have legal questions or are thinking about hiring an attorney, we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at (312) 564-4256.