Compensation for IKEA customers given drain cleaner instead of hand sanitizer

IKEA customers that were injured last May when a bottle of drain cleaner, instead of hand sanitizer, was placed near the entrance of the store in Haarlem will receive monetary compensation. Compensation will range between 250 and 800 euros, depending on how severely they burned their hands when they sanitized with drain cleaner, RTL Nieuws reports.

In total eight people, including one IKEA employee, came in contact with the acidic liquid that caused their hands to swell and gave them chemical burns to varying degrees.

“The bottle was refilled by a cleaning lady who has not fully mastered the Dutch language and the bottles look alike”, a police spokesperson said at the time to NOS.

The injuries were treated at the company restaurant. Some of the wounded went home by themselves and did not find out the cause behind their pain until later.

IKEA stated that they “deeply regret” the incident and emphasized that the health and safety of staff and customers remains a priority.