Ikea has relaunched the recall of what had been 29 million chests and dressers following the death of an eighth child.
CEO Lars Petersson said the company wants to increase awareness of the recall for several types of chest and dressers that can easily tip over if not anchored to a wall.
The death of a California toddler, who was found trapped underneath an Ikea Malm dresser in May, has raised questions about whether Ikea has effectively spread the word about the recall, which was first announced in June 2016.
Petersson said Ikea has had an "extensive communication" campaign through social media and its website. The Swedish company emailed 13 million people about the recall two months ago, he said.
In December, Ikea settled wrongful death lawsuits for $50 million with three families of children killed by tipped-over dressers.
At least eight children under the age of three have been killed when an Ikea dresser fell on them, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The first death occurred 28 years ago and the others occurred after 2002.
The latest death was Jozef Dudek, 2, of Buena Park, California. The toddler had been put down for a nap when his father went in to check on him and found him under the dresser, according to details released by lawyers retained by the family.
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Alan Feldman, one of the lawyers representing the Dudek family, said Ikea's recall has been "poorly publicized" and "ineffective in getting these defective and unstable dressers out of children's bedrooms."
The same team of lawyers represented the families of the three toddlers whose death resulted in the $50 million settlement.
Petersson said that more than 1 million dressers of have been returned for a refund or have been secured to walls with Ikea's help since 2015, when the company first offered free wall-mounting kits.
About 17.3 million units are affected by the recall, according to the notice sent out by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Tuesday. The agency said the number of units in the recall was revised down by Ikea from June 2016.
They should be anchored to the wall or placed in an area kids can't get to. Ikea is providing refunds or free wall-anchoring kids to people who have the product.
Learn more about the units being recalled here or call Ikea toll-free at 866-856-4532.
