On December 18, 2019, Hillsdale Furniture issued a recall for the Chadwick and Bailey five-drawer chests. According to the recall (recall number 20-041), the chests are unstable and can tip over if they are not anchored to a wall; this poses a tip-over and entrapment risk that can lead to injuries or death in children. The drawer chests are not compliant with the performance requirements of the industry standard (ASTM F2057-17).
Approximately 31,000 units of the drawer chests are affected by the recall in the U.S. The recall specifically involved the Chadwick and Bailey five-drawer (wooden) chests in white, dove gray, espresso, and mission oak colors. The affected chests measure 48 inches tall by 36 inches wide by 17 inches deep. “Hillsdale Furniture” is printed on a label on the back of the drawer chest.
The recalled drawer chests were sold at Bob’s Discount Furniture as well as other retailers nationwide for approximately $280 each from August 2010 to August 2019. Allegedly, there have been no incidents or injuries reported in association with the defective drawer chests. The company is urging consumers to stop using recalled chests that are not properly anchored to walls and place it in an area not accessible to children. The company is also urging consumers to contact Bob’s Discount Furniture or Hillsdale Furniture for a free repair or refund. The company is offering free self-installation repair kits, free in-home installations of repair kits, as well as free drawer chest pick-up.
According to the recall, there have been no reports of incidents or injuries related to the defective product. However, it is possible that there have been at least a few unreported incidents as well as injuries associated with the defective drawer chests. Have you and your family been directly by the recall? Did your child suffer injuries after becoming entrapped due to a tipped-over chest drawer? If so, it is essential that you do not follow any of the company’s recommendations as stated on the recall. Instead, it is essential that you seek legal assistance and explore the possibility of taking legal action against Hillsdale Furniture.
Depending on the details surrounding your claim, you might have grounds to pursue a defective product lawsuit for the harm that your child and the rest of your family suffered. After all, your child wouldn’t have suffered any harm if the chest drawer wasn’t defective. If you would like to learn more about your right to pursue a product liability claim after your child was harmed by a defective drawer chest, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the product liability lawyers at Normandie Law Firm at your earliest convenience.
The lawyers at Normandie Law Firm have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims, including product liability claims. Our defective product attorneys are dedicated to representing all parties who have been harmed by the ultimate negligence of companies who make defective products available to the public. We believe in protecting the rights of consumers and doing everything within our reach to help them recover the compensation that they deserve. If you would like our lawyers to evaluate your claim and guide you towards the legal process, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at your earliest convenience.
How Dangerous is the Defective Product?
According to the recall, the recalled wooden drawer chests are unstable and could tip over if they are not anchored to the wall, resulting in a significant risk of injury to children. Children are prone to climbing drawer chests. When this happens, the weight of the child cause the drawer chest to tip over – the drawer chest can fall on the child resulting in entrapment. Children could potentially suffer crushing injuries, brain injuries, head injuries, lacerations, and broken bones, for example, just from the force of the drawer chest falling on them. The weight of the fallen drawer chest on the child’s body could lead to suffocation – prolonged suffocation could result in permanent damage and even death.
Without a doubt, the defective drawer chest could have seriously harmed your child. If your child was harmed in any way, you must consider the possibility of taking legal action against Hillsdale Furniture – you and your family might have the right to sue for the harm that your child suffered. For more information, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at your earliest convenience.
About Product Liability and Defective Products
All companies have a duty of care towards their consumers – companies must ensure that their products are completely safe for consumer-use prior to making them available for purchase. To exercise their duty of care, companies typically have to subject their products to vigorous tests and inspections; this allows companies to identify and address potential hazards and essentially get rid of any defects prior to allowing consumers access to the products.
When companies fail to identify and address hazards present in their products, they are breaching their duty of care and exposing their consumers to defective products. This can directly cause an incident which can result in harm. When a defect in design, labeling, or manufacturing, for example, directly contributes to the harm that an innocent consumer suffered, the company that failed to identify and address the hazard (and breached their duty of care) could be found liable.
What does this mean? If a defective product directly contributed to the harm that you or a member of your family suffered, you could hold the negligent company accountable for their actions and even pursue a product liability claim. If you would like to learn more about your right to take legal action based on product liability, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at your earliest convenience.
Your Right to Sue and Receive Compensation
If a company negligently contributed to the harm that your child suffered, you could – without a doubt – pursue a claim. Depending on the details surrounding the claim and the harm suffered, the recovery of monetary compensation might be possible. If your claim reaches a successful outcome, you might be eligible to recover monetary compensation.
You could recover some of the following compensation:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Loss of consortium
- Funeral and burial costs
- Punitive damages
If you would like to learn more about your right to recover monetary compensation for the harm that your child suffered due to the defective drawer chests, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts immediately. The product liability lawyers at our firm are ready to aggressively fight for your right to recover the highest amount of compensation available for your claim. Do not hesitate to contact our firm today for more information.
What Should You Do?
Many parties harmed by defective products, unfortunately, reduce the possibility of filing a successful product liability lawsuit against liable companies simply because they fail to take the appropriate actions immediately after being harmed by a defective product. If you or a member of your family were directly harmed by a defective product, you should do the following:
- Take photos of the scene of the incident (including the defective product)
- Take photos of all injuries suffered
- Seek medical attention for all harm suffered
- Stop using the defective product
- Keep the defective product as-is in a safe place
- Contact the company to report the incident and the harm suffered
- Do not agree to return the defective product
- Do not agree to a free repair
- Do not agree to a refund
- Do not tamper with the defective product in any way
- Gather all medical records
- Gather all purchase records (receipts, order confirmations, etc.)
- Seek legal assistance immediately
By following the different steps listed above, affected parties are essentially gathering the tools necessary to file their claims and hold the liable company accountable for the harm suffered. If you are ever confused about what you should do next, do not hesitate to simply seek legal assistance with our experts immediately. Our product liability attorneys are ready to guide you every step of the way.
The Statute of Limitations
Undeniably, you could sue for the harm that your child suffered because of the defective drawer chests negligently made available by Hillsdale Furniture. However, you could lose your right to sue if you fail to take legal action within the appropriate length of time. In other words, failing to file your claim promptly could result losing the right to hold the negligent company accountable for the harm resulting from their defective products.
All claims are subject to a statute of limitations that establishes the time that claimants have to sue. In California, product liability claims are typically subject to a two-year statute of limitations, meaning that claimants will only have two years to file their claims. However, certain exceptions could apply; exceptions could affect the applicable deadlines, for example.
In cases involving minors, specifically when the minor is not fatally injured, the minor can directly pursue a claim once he or she is legally an adult (this means that the statute of limitations can be paused or tolled for many years). To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the exact time that you have to pursue your claim, do not hesitate to contact our firm at your earliest convenience – our lawyers are ready to help you understand the time that you have to sue.
Contact Our Firm Today
If your child was harmed in any way after suffering entrapment due to the defective drawer chests, it is essential that you understand your right to pursue a claim. You should seek legal assistance immediately. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of filing a claim and fighting for the right to recover compensation for the harm that your child and your entire family suffered in association with the defective drawer chests, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts as soon as possible.
At Normandie Law Firm, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims – including product liability claims. Our lawyers believe that all negligent companies who put their consumers at risk of injury should be held accountable for their actions. Our experts are not afraid to pursue claims against even the most well-known companies. Our product liability lawyers are dedicated to representing all affected parties and guiding them throughout the entire legal process.
Many people never seek legal assistance because of the fear of expensive legal fees. At our firm, however, we are dedicated to making legal services accessible to all. Specifically, we offer free legal services, which include free consultations and free second opinions. During our free legal services, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions, address all your concerns, and provide you with all the information that you need to start or continue your product liability claim against the company that contributed to the harm that your child suffered. If you would like to benefit from our free legal services, do not hesitate to contact our law firm today.
Our free legal services are available as part of our Zero-Fee guarantee, which ensures that our clients never have to worry about paying any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Our firm is also strictly based on contingency; therefore, our clients will never be required to pay anything until after reaching a successful claim outcome. If you do not win, you will not be required to pay anything. If you would like to learn more about your right to pursue a claim for the harm that your child suffered because of the defective drawer chests, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
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