Pressure Cooker Injury Lawsuit

Pressure cookers have been causing devastating harm to their users. This has led to defective pressure cooker injury lawsuits.  Our lawyers are handling pressure cooker injury claims not only in Maryland but around the country.

With over 53 million Americans owning some brand of a pressure cooker, the safety of the cookers is a huge concern. It is incredibly flexible weapon in cooking. But the rush to grab profits in this competitive market has led some manufacturers to cut corners. Since 2006, many different brands of pressure cookers have been recalled for many reasons regarding their safety. The impact of these recalls and the harm pressure cookers are causing is concerning.  Defective pressure cookers too often lead to serious and avoidable injuries.

Pressure Cooker Update – October 2022

A defense motion to dismiss in a pressure cooker product liability case in Florida was granted in part and denied in part earlier this week. The case involves both personal injury claims by four victims claiming they were physically harmed when their Sunbeam pressure cookers exploded, and consumer class action claims. The judge dismissed almost all the consumer class action claims except those based on breach of express warranty. The personal injury tort claims were also allowed to move forward.

What is a “Pressure Cooker”?

Pressure cookers (which include brand names such as Instant Pot and Crockpot) are branded constantly via commercials, magazines, and online ads, anywhere from Alcan Pressure Cookers to Wolfgang Puck Worldwide Cookers. These variously sized cooking machines have taken over the kitchen supply industry.

One uses a pressure cooker to shorten the time frame needed to prepare meals whilst also allowing for the perfect flavor and ingredient combination. A meal that would normally take an hour would only take around half that time with a Pressure Cooker.

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Pressure cookers use hot steam that is pressurized inside of their pots to cook a variety of foods anywhere from soups to roasts. The use of pressurized hot steam makes for faster cooking times while keeping the food hydrated and tender. Famous for this quick-cooking, these pots come with a huge selection of cooking uses and can be a great addition to any kitchen. Yet not everyone has the same taste-pleasuring and instantly prepared experience of using pressure cookers.

How Should Pressure Cookers Work?

Electric pressure cookers work by producing hot steam by applying strong heat directly to the liquid contents of the cooking pot (e.g., broth or water). When the heat is applied, the pot section of a pressure cooker should have an airtight seal, allowing it to function as a pressure chamber. The steam created from the applied heat to the liquid contents rapidly raises both the internal air pressure of the pot, the air temperature inside the pot and thus the food inside the pot. This enables the temperature within the pot to quickly climb over the regular boiling point reaching temperatures exceeding 200°F.

Recalled Pressure Cooker Details

According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) there has been a pressure cooker recall on pots made with faulty gaskets which allow for accidental explosions, poor insulation of the pot’s materials leading to electric shocks, and faulty pot seals which allow for content spills, all while pressure and temperature are extremely high.

All these issues stem from a lack of properly installed and necessary safety features. Whether used improperly or made incorrectly, pressure cookers have been causing serious injury to their users by permanently impacting their quality of life.

Some Recalled Pressure Cookers

  • June 14, 2006- About 900 Welbilt Pressure Cookers are recalled due to the lid opening prematurely while contents are still heated and under pressure
  • November 30, 2006 – About 1,450 Ultrex-brand Pressure Cookers are recalled due to lids opening while its contents are still under pressure
  • December 21, 2007 – About 38,250 Pressure Cookers improperly closed lids allow for hot contents to spill out
  • July 15, 2015 (In Conjunction with Canada) – Instant Pot “Smart” and “Smart-60) Pressure Cookers with Serial numbers of united between 1410 and 1503 with manufacture dates between 12/1/201/ and 6/1/2015 have reports of shocking consumers due to faulty wiring
  • December 22, 2015- Breville Fast Slow Cookers recall for repair about 35,000 units due to incorrectly inserted sealing gaskets allowing for the unexpected release of pressure build-up
  • August 02, 2018 – About 700 Nutrex Pressure cookers are recalled for repair due to steam discharge at low pressure resulting in burns

-This does not serve as a comprehensive list of all recalled pressure cookers. It serves as an example of the types of issues found regarding pressure cooker recalls. If your pressure cooker is not listed above, this does not mean you do not have a viable claim.  In fact, some of the most dangerous pressure cookers that are not on this list should be on this list.  –

Additional Pressure Cookers with defects and or recalls include:

  • Tristar Power Pressure Cooker
  • Gourmia Express Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
  • Crock-Pot Express Multi-Cooker
  • Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker

Pressure Cooker Injuries

The injuries sustained from these cookers are due to the extremely hot contents exploding or spilling onto their users and faulty wire installation and covering. Injuries sustained include

  • Burns: (first, second, and third-degree) – because of extremely hot contents of Pressure cookers exploding onto users
  • Infections: due to the susceptible nature of burned skin, hair, and other body parts
  • Amputations: because of serious infections because of burns and infections
  • Blindness: due to hot contents having direct contact with eyes

The most common of these injuries are second-degree burns which can lead to infection and amputation.

Pressure Cooker Lawsuits Have Been Filed

Many personal injury lawsuits have been filed against pressure cooker manufacturers by users who have been seriously injured by one of the devices.

  • A woman in Louisiana filed a personal injury lawsuit against SharkNinja LLC after her Ninja Foodi pressure cooker exploded resulting in severe burns in April 2020
  • A mother and her two-year-old filed a civil action complaint against Instant Brands INC and Target Corporation after they purchased an Instant Pot with, “11 Safety Mechanisms” and videos on Instant Pot’s YouTube page expressing that the pot could not be opened while in use, was opened and spewed the scalding hot contents over the both of them.
  • In November of 2020, an Illinois woman filed a complaint against Nuwave LLC, regarding their 6Q Digital Pressure Cooker, which had caused her to sustain injuries in December 2018. Her injuries were a direct result of a malfunction of the Nuwave “Sure-Lock Safety System” a guarantee to keep the users of the cookers safe while in usage. She was able to turn the cookers lid whilst it was still under pressure resulting in the heated contents exploding onto her. As a result, she suffered serious and substantial burn injuries.
  • A man in South Carolina filed a complaint after his Pressure Cooker from Sunbeam Products INC failed during normal use because of improper safety features resulting in substantial and painful injuries in December of 2018.

Anyone who has experienced serious injuries as a direct result of recalled or defective pressure cookers (whether by faulty wiring or seals) may be entitled to compensation.

Hiring a Lawyer for Your Pressure Cooker Lawsuit

Our personal injury attorneys are presently accepting new cases from anyone who has been severely burned or wounded due to a faulty pressure cooker device. Instant pressure cooker users who were burned or injured may be entitled to financial compensation. To learn if you can file a defective pressure cooker lawsuit, call us at 800-883-8082 or get a free consultation online.

 

 

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