Lawyers for three families say Ikea is agreeing to pay $US50 million ($A69 million) because toddlers died when the company’s dressers tipped over on them.

The Swedish home furnishings retailer has recalled millions of Malm chests and dressers because of concerns the furniture can tip over when the drawers are opened.

The settlement will be divided between the families of Washington State toddler Camden Ellis, two-year-old Curran Collas from West Chester in Pennsylvania, and 23-month-old Theodore “Ted” McGee from Apple Valley in Minnesota.

The families’ lawyers say Ikea will also make donations to children’s hospitals.

See demonstrations of the faulty drawers below:

Johanna Iritz, a spokeswoman for Ikea in Sweden, said “it would be inappropriate to comment,” adding the settlement was pending a US court approval.

She referred further questions to its US division. A message seeking comment from Ikea’s US headquarters in Conshohocken, near Philadelphia, was not immediately returned.

In June, Ikea recalled up to 29 million Malm chests and drawers across the US and Canada after six deaths involving Ikea chests over a 13-year period.

None of the chests involved in the fatalities had been anchored to the wall.

The recall did not affect Australian customers, as customers who had misplaced tip-over restraints included with the chest of drawers were offered to collect free replacements in store or online.