Someone is injured every 20 minutes from a piece of furniture, a television or another appliance falls on them, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. A child dies about every two weeks from the same cause. Every year, thousands of tip-over incidents like these involve dressers that are top-heavy but aren’t secured to the wall.
Now, another brand of dresser has issued a recall. Joybird is recalling about 100 units of its Blythe-style dressers. The dresser weighs about 200 pounds and is 66 inches wide, 18 inches deep and 37.5 inches high. On the back, you should find a sticker that says “Stitch Industries, Inc.” along with the month and year of manufacture and the words “TSCA Title VI Compliant.”
These dressers were available from Joybird.com between October 2017 and July 2019. The retail price was about $1,700.
There have been no reports of death or injury from these particular dressers.
Joybird offers free pickup, full refund
Safety advocates like those at Consumer Reports like to see a recall remedy that completely removes the hazardous product from use, and that’s what Joybird is prepared to do. The company is offering a full refund and free pickup of the affected dressers.
Alternatively, consumers can contact Joybird for these remedies:
- A free in-home repair to the legs of the dresser or
- Free installation of a tip-over restraint kit plus a $50 Joybird.com gift card
You can reach Joybird at 888-282-0842, support@joybird.com, or www.joybird.com.
If you are unable to obtain the free repair or immediately return the dresser, we recommend you immediately stop using it and put it in a room that children can’t access.
Congress may yet act on dressers that are prone to tipping over
The House of Representatives has already passed the “Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act, and the bill is being considered by the Senate. If passed, the law would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to mandate anti-tip-over rules that are stricter than the current, voluntary industry standard.
If you or your child has been injured by a tipped or fallen piece of furniture, contact an attorney experienced in product liability for an evaluation of your legal options.
