Swedish furniture company Ikea has agreed to pay a California-based family $46 million as a settlement over a suit against it. The wrongful death case against the company stemmed from the death of a toddler who died after he was crushed by one of the company's dressers inside their home.

The family members of two-year-old Jozef Dudek, who died in May 2017, sued Ikea. According to the family's lawyers, Dudek died due to suffocation after an Ikea Malm dresser collapsed onto the toddler's neck.

Legal firm Feldman Shepherd mentioned in a statement that Ikea's agreement to pay the amount officially makes the case the country's largest wrongful death settlement related to a single person. The same product was also the subject of another wrongful death case in 2016. During that time, Ikea agreed to pay a total of $50 million to three separate families whose children had died due to the sudden collapse of the company's Malm dresser.

Following news of the settlement, Ikea released its own statement confirming initial reports. The company also issued an apology for the victim and his family. Ikea stated that no amount of money can ever reverse the tragic events but it is grateful that the litigation has finally reached a resolution. Ikea further elaborated that product safety is still its top priority and it includes it in all operations such as product design and manufacturing.

Similar to its statements made during its 2016 settlement, Ikea vowed to redesign the product and to ensure a higher safety standard in its manufacturing process. Feldman Shepherd was apparently not satisfied with the company's statements, arguing that millions of the unsafe dressers still remained in the houses of millions of families across the country.

The legal firm, which also represented the families of previous victims, stated that there have been at least eight reports of children killed by Ikea's chests and dressers over the last decade. In 2016, Ikea was forced to issue a recall of more than 17.3 million units in the United States after it was found that its products had caused injuries to more than 144 children.

The latest lawsuit against Ikea alleges that the company was aware of the deaths and injuries caused by the defective furniture and that it failed to address these issues. As part of the settlement agreement for the latest case, Ikea has agreed to reach out to its customers regarding their purchased products. Ikea has also agreed to work with organizations such as the Parents Against Tip-Overs to discuss safer furniture designs and better testing standards.