Horror injuries of tot, 3, after IKEA Malm drawers fell on her – as firm recalls millions across the US
A mum says she thought her daughter was going to die after she was allegedly crushed by the falling furniture
A MUM thought her daughter was going to DIE after IKEA drawers allegedly crushed her – leaving her 'scarred for life'.
Kellie Curtis, 25, from Long Eaton, Notts, claims she came into a bedroom at her family home at 6.30pm last Monday and found little Evie-Mai McKenzie trapped under the Malm drawers covered in blood.
The tot was rushed to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham and kept in overnight after receiving 20 stitches to a sickening gash to her temple.
And mum-of-two Kellie has called on the Swedish furniture giant to stop selling the waist-height drawers – purchased in 2014 – after reports of three toddlers losing their lives in similar incidents in the last two years.
IKEA do supply instructions that advise customers to secure drawers to the wall, however Kellie says she was not aware of the risk.
Kellie said: "As soon as I heard the bang, I instantly knew exactly what must have happened.
"When I came in, the drawers were on top of her and I just saw the blood on the side of her face.
"She was in hysterics and crying her eyes out – I just thought she was going to die.
"I have said it quite a few times this week that someone has been watching out for Evie up there because she has been unbelievably lucky to still be here.
"It's quite scary because she really doesn't seem to care and it hasn't fazed her at all, although she's not so keen on going back into the bedroom."
The news comes as the Swedish furniture giant is set to recall tens of millions of killer chests of drawers from after three toddlers in the US lost their lives in two years.
According to reports in America the company will be offering full refunds or store credit to anyone, including UK shoppers, who have purchased some of their Malm drawers.
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The furniture giant is also set to stop selling the range.
Around 27 million of the products have been recalled across the USA which cost between £49 and £99.
Kellie was changing Evie-Mai's two-year-old brother Mason McKenzie's nappy in the family's living room when she heard the bang of the drawers falling.
The full-time mum raced upstairs and found her daughter being crushed by the wooden drawers, which had split in the fall.
Kellie now fears that Evie-Mai could be scarred for life after she needed 12 stitches on the outside of her temple and eight on the inside.
And she insists that the incident has put her off shopping at the store while she is also keen to warn other parents of the dangers from not fixing the drawers to the wall.
Kellie, who has since got rid of the drawers, said: "It has upset me that they were not fixed to the wall and I have been blaming myself so it is really important now that I can spread the word that they need to be fixed to the wall.
"I didn't know about the other boy who had been crushed by the drawers before this happened but I don't like the fact that the drawers are still on sale.
"This has put me off IKEA for good and I think that they need to make the drawers safer and I really want to stress that they really do need to be fixed to the wall to avoid something like this happening."
IKEA have offered Kellie a full refund for the drawers as well as a gift for Evie-Mae and have opened an investigation into the incident.
Donna Moore, country customer relations manager for IKEA UK & Ireland, said: "At IKEA, we believe children are the most important people in the world and the safety of our products is our highest priority. We are saddened that an incident occurred whereby a young child sustained an injury and we have been in direct contact with the customer to investigate the incident.
"IKEA chests of drawers are safe when anchored to the wall, as per the assembly instructions using the tip over restraint provided with the product.
"We are committed to raising awareness of the tip over risks of all furniture and how to prevent accidents from happening through our 'Secure it!' campaign.
"IKEA urges all customers to check their chests of drawers are securely anchored to the wall. Any customer is welcome to contact us on 0203 6450010 to request a free replacement restraint kit.
"Alternatively, should any customer be unhappy with their product they can return it to their local IKEA store in line with our returns policy."
In relation to the US recall the spokesman added:“Today, IKEA US and IKEA Canada will launch a local recall of chests of drawers in North America only. The recall is based on the local voluntary ASTM standard, which is applicable in North America. IKEA chests of drawers meet all mandatory stability requirements on all markets where sold.
“We cannot comment further on any details about the action in North America until IKEA US and IKEA Canada, in corporation with their local consumer authorities, will launch the press release, which is planned at 2 pm UTC.
“IKEA chests of drawers are safe when anchored to the wall per the assembly instruction, using the tip over restraint provided with the product. Accidents related to furniture tipping over is a serious home safety issue for the entire home furnishing industry and IKEA is committed to take the lead in addressing this challenge. The global IKEA Secure It! campaign is developed to create awareness of the risk of furniture tip-overs and how to prevent it from happening”.
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