Sean | July 6, 2022
Is IKEA Responsible When Its Furniture Falls and Hurts Someone?
IKEA is a large, Swedish-based furniture retailer with stores throughout the United States. You can visit a store to browse furniture and household goods or order online. Millions of people purchase items from IKEA each year.
Unfortunately, the company has been the subject of numerous product liability and negligence claims. Recently, the retailer reached a $46 million settlement with a family whose two-year-old son was killed when an IKEA dresser fell on him.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, IKEA recalled millions of dressers because they could tip over if they were not secured correctly. At least eight children have died in accidents involving IKEA accidental damages.
Sadly, a child dies every two weeks from tipping accidents related to furniture, televisions, appliances, and other household items. In addition, roughly 25,400 children are injured yearly because of tip-over accidents.
Why Is IKEA Responsible for Injuries and Deaths Caused by Falling Furniture?
Companies and manufacturers have a duty of care or legal responsibility to produce and sell safe products. When they breach their duty of care, they can be liable for damages under product liability laws.
Product liability claims may be based on negligence, breach of warranty, or strict liability.
There are three kinds of product liability claims that could apply when a defective product causes an injury:
- Design Defect – An inherent flaw in the product’s design that creates an unreasonable danger when using the product.
- Manufacturing Defect – A problem during the manufacturing process that causes some or all of the products to be unreasonably dangerous to use, for example some Ikea defective products.
- Marketing Defect – Failing to provide sufficient instructions for use or failure to provide adequate warnings and risks of use.
Any party involved in the design, manufacture, assembly, distribution, and sale of defective products could be held liable for damages caused by those products. Furthermore, parties involved in making the components and parts could also be liable under product liability laws.
Product liability claims for furniture that tips over could involve one or more of the above claims. For example, there could be a design or manufacturing defect that caused the furniture to have an unreasonable risk of tipping over. In addition, a company might fail to provide adequate instructions for securing the furniture or warnings of the risk of the furniture tipping over and injuring someone.
What Should I Do if an IKEA Product Causes an Injury?
You should seek immediate medical attention if a product injures you or a family member. In addition to protecting your health, you need medical records documenting the injuries sustained because of a defective product.
Do not throw the product away. Instead, preserve the product, packaging, instructions, and other items that came with the product. Keep all information about the product.
Secure the product so that it cannot cause further injury.
Preserve any evidence of the injury. For example, if a video of the accident is captured by a baby monitor, surveillance camera, or other devices, preserve that video footage. Likewise, if someone witnessed the injury, ask for their contact information.
Contact a product liability lawyer for a free consultation as soon as possible. Product liability claims are complex personal injury cases. Therefore, they require experienced and skilled attorneys to handle the case.
Most personal injury attorneys accept product liability cases on a contingency fee basis. Therefore, you do not pay any attorneys’ fees until the lawyer recovers money for your claim.
What Damages Could I Recover for an Injury Caused By IKEA Furniture?
Injuries caused by defective products can result in financial losses, physical injuries, and emotional distress. An injured party could recover compensation for a variety of damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include the monetary losses you incur because of the defective product.
You could recover compensation for your:
- Medical expenses, including surgeries, doctors’ bills, physical therapy, emergency care, and other medical bills
- Loss of income and benefits, including future lost wages and decreases in future earning potential
- Out-of-pocket expenses, including personal care and household services
- In-home and long-term nursing care
In addition to your economic damages, you can also recover compensation for non-economic losses.
Non-Economic Damages
With non-economic damages, you could recover compensation for your:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Permanent impairments and disabilities
- Mental anguish
- Decrease in quality of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
The value of a product liability claim depends on several factors. The strength of your evidence and the severity of your injuries are two factors.
Contact Our Product Liability Law Firm – Lopez Accident Injury Attorneys
If you bought a piece of furniture in Ikea St. Petersburg and it got you or your family injured, give us a call. An experienced St. Petersburg product liability lawyer will have the resources to investigate the claim and gather evidence, including hiring expert witnesses to assist with the case. Your lawyer will handle the legal aspects of your case while you focus on recovering and healing from a traumatic event.
Contact a St. Petersburg product liability lawyer at Lopez Accident Injury Attorneys and schedule a free case review today.
Lopez Accident Injury Attorneys
700 7th Ave N Suite B
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 933-0015