Home Depot Recalls Whitewash Chests Due to Danger of Tip-Over and Entrapment
Home Depot Recalls Whitewash Chests Due to Danger of Tip-Over and Entrapment
Home Depot has recalled whitewash chests over concerns that the four-drawer piece of furniture creates tipping and entrapment hazards. According to a news report, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says the Home Decorators Collection Print Block 4-Drawer Whitewash Chest, is unstable unless it is anchored to a wall. Failure to anchor the chest poses serious tip-over and entrapment hazards that could lead to serious injury or death.
Details of the Recall
In addition, the chest fails to comply with the performance requirements of the U.S. voluntary industry standard, the CPSC said in its release. The chest is made from mango wood with a distressed finish and was sold between May 2015 and December 2019. The chest, which was made in India, is about 44 inches tall and weighs about 96 pounds.
A white label on the back of each chest lists the manufacturer “Country Art & Craft LLP” and date of production in black text. For more information, consumers are asked to call Home Depot at 1-800-466-3337 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or go online at homedepot.com.
Tip-Over Injuries and Deaths
According to the CPSC, there were about 30,700 emergency department-related injuries and 513 reported between 2000 and 2016 associated with tip-over accidents. Of the estimated injuries treated in emergency departments, about 15,800 or 52% involved children under 18 years of age and about 4% of the victims were between 1 month and 14 years of age. However, when it came to fatalities involving tip-over accidents, an overwhelming majority, about 84%, were children between the ages of 1 month and 14 years. As we know from tragic news reports, most of these children tend to be toddlers or under the age of 5.
The Need for Better Standards
The industry’s voluntary safety standard is simply not sufficient and leaves too many children at risk. Consumer Reports is calling for the tip-over test weight for dressers to be increased to 60 pounds from 50 pounds and for dressers 30 inches tall and shorter to be included in the standard because they can also top over. One effective way to prevent tip-overs is to secure dressers to walls. It should be the responsibility of manufacturers and the industry to ensure safer, more stable dressers, and that safety should not depend on consumers’ skills to anchor the dresser to the wall.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of these or other products, please contact an experienced product safety lawyer to obtain more information about pursuing your legal rights.
