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Photo IKEA

IKEA has agreed to pay $46 million to the parents of a child who was killed when a chest of drawers fell on him.

Two-year-old Jozef Dudek suffocated in May 2017 when Ikea’s Malm drawers toppled over at the family’s California home.

The item, which weighs 70lbs, had been recalled a year earlier over safety concerns after three other children were killed.

According to lawyers, it is the largest child wrongful death settlement in US history.

A spokeswoman for the Swedish furniture giant said: “While no settlement can alter the tragic events that brought us here, for the sake of the family and all involved, we’re grateful that this litigation has reached a resolution.”

IKEA Agrees to Pay $50 Million to Settle Child Deaths Case

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In a statement, Jozef’s parents, Joleen and Craig Dudek, said they were “devastated” by the loss of their son.

They said: “We never thought that a two-year-old could cause a dresser just 30 inches high to topple over and suffocate him.

“It was only later that we learned that [it] was unstable by design.”

“We are telling our story because we do not want this to happen to another family,” the couple added. They urged anyone who still has a recalled Ikea dresser to return it.

Joleen and Craig Dudek also said they would donate $1 million of the settlement to groups working to protect children from dangerous products.

In 2016, Ikea recalled millions of Malm chests of drawers in North America over safety concerns. It was the largest recall in the company’s history.

Initially, Ikea warned customers to use wall mounts with them, but the death of a third child prompted the action.

Curren Collas, 2, Camden Ellis, 2, and 23-month-old Ted McGee were all crushed by the product.

In December 2016, Ikea agreed to pay $50 million in a combined settlement to the families of the three toddlers.

Under that settlement, the company agreed to only sell chests in the US that meet or exceed the national voluntary safety standard for clothing storage units.

The deaths prompted the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to launch an education campaign about the risk of falling chests of drawers.

In 2017, Ikea re-launched the recall in the US and Canada. The Swedish furniture giant said items in its Malm range and other chests and dressers pose a “serious tip-over and entrapment hazard” if not secured to a wall.

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IKEA has agreed to pay $50 million to the families of three toddlers killed in by falling dressers, the families’ lawyers have said.

According to the lawyers, the payout, one of the biggest of its kind, reflected the seriousness of the case.

Curren Collas, 2, Camden Ellis, 2, and 23-month-old Ted McGee were crushed after Malm dressers from IKEA toppled onto them.

The Swedish furniture giant confirmed a “tentative settlement” had been reached.

Photo IKEA

It said in a statement: “The settlement is not yet approved by the court and it would be inappropriate for us to comment on it at this time.”

Six months ago, IKEA issued a recall for millions of Malm dressers in North America.

Initially, IKEA had warned customers to use wall mounts with them, but the third death in February prompted the recall.

Lawyers at Feldman Shepherd said the $50 million would be split evenly between the families.

They added that, as part of the settlement, IKEA had also agreed to make three separate $50,000 donations to hospitals in memories of the children and a $100,000 contribution to a charity focused on child safety.

According to the law firm, Camden Ellis, from Washington State, was found trapped under a three-drawer Malm in June 2014.

Curren Collas, from Pennsylvania, was crushed by a six-drawer Malm in February 2015, and Theodore McGee was killed by the same sized chest a year later.

Under the settlement, IKEA has agreed to only sell dressers in the US that meet or exceed the national voluntary safety standard for clothing storage units, Feldman Shepherd said.

The law firm added that IKEA would also spend more to raise awareness of the problem, including TV ads, internet and digital communications and in-store warnings.

The deaths prompted the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to launch an education campaign about the risk of falling dressers.