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Ikea Must Pay $3.2M Over Crushed Pelvis

Jury awards Va. woman after accident

Wednesday, Apr 15, 2009 | Updated 10:00 AM EST

AFP/Getty Images

A collapse of Swedish modular furniture left one woman with a crushed pelvis.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- A woman whose pelvis was crushed when more than 350 pounds of countertops suddenly fell on her at Ikea has been awarded $3.2 million by a Fairfax County jury.

Xiaolei Zeng, of Arlington, said a stack of four countertops and a door collapsed on her as she stopped near a section of bargain items at the Potomac Mills store in July 2006.

Zeng's lawyer, Edward Weiner, said the countertops were stacked upright on their short sides rather than their long eight-foot sides and were restrained only by an elastic bungee cord.

Weiner said Zeng had a metal plate placed in her pelvis that was replaced with another device after the pain continued. Doctors say the pain will likely continue for the rest of her life.