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IKEA to Pay $46M Settlement After Furniture Kills 2-Year-Old Boy

The settlement is the largest amount resulting from the wrongful death of a child in U.S. history, according to the family’s lawyers.

IKEA will pay $46 million to the parents of a 2-year-old boy who was crushed to death by a piece of IKEA furniture, according to a mediated court settlement announced Monday. Jozef Dudek died in 2017 after a dresser fell on him, crushed his neck, and caused him to suffocate, according to court documents. However, attorneys for the Dudek family said the dresser should have never been in their home. The Washington Post reports that a year earlier, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said it was aware of four children killed by IKEA’s Malm dressers, leading the CPSC and the company to launch a massive product recall. The Dudeks’ attorneys said they believe this is the largest settlement resulting from the wrongful death of a child in U.S. history. Their settlement comes after IKEA paid $50 million to settle three different lawsuits stemming from children being killed by the retailer’s Malm furniture.