Many brands of electric pressure cookers, commonly referred to as “Insta Pots,” have dangerous design flaws that can cause the device to malfunction and eject boiling liquid, leading to severe burns and disfigurement.
Our national product liability lawyers are actively seeking new cases from individuals who have been seriously burned or injured by a defective pressure cooker. If you have been harmed by an instant pressure cooker, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact a pressure cooker lawyer today to determine if you can file a lawsuit for the injuries you have suffered.
How Pressure Cookers Work
Pressure cookers are kitchen appliances designed to cook food quickly using high-pressure steam. They consist of a sealed pot with a locking lid and a pressure valve. When the liquid inside the pot is heated, it produces steam, which increases the pressure and temperature inside the pot. This high-pressure environment cooks food faster than traditional methods while retaining moisture and nutrients.
There are two main types of pressure cookers:
Stovetop Pressure Cookers: These are placed on a stovetop burner and manually controlled by adjusting the heat. They are typically more durable and can reach higher pressures than electric models.
Electric Pressure Cookers: These are self-contained units with built-in heating elements and electronic controls. They often come with multiple cooking functions, such as slow cooking, sautéing, and steaming, making them versatile kitchen appliances.
Most pressure cookers used in kitchen’s today are electric pressure cookers. Electric pressure cookers have actually become very popular in recent years, with various brands coming out with their own models. The Instant Pot is probably the most well-known brand of electric pressure cookers.
Design Flaws Make Pressure Cookers Dangerous
Pressure cookers can be potentially dangerous and for very obvious reasons. These handy little appliances can rapidly heat liquid in their pots to temperatures over 250 degrees. Water at that temperature can cause severe burns. What is even more potentially hazardous is that this scalding hot liquid is pressurized, so any leak or crack and it will shoot out.
To accomplish this primary goal, pressure cookers are equipped with multiple safety components and design features. Of these design features are intended to prevent the ultra-hot pressurize liquid in the pot from shooting out and burning anyone in its path. That is there 1 and only objective.
To accomplish this goal, most safety features are aimed at preventing the lid from opening while the pot is pressurized. However, defects in these features can lead to severe consequences. Faulty designs related to these safety mechanisms have caused many pressure cooker lids to malfunction, ejecting their boiling contents and severely burning anyone nearby.
Design flaws in pressure cooker safety features tend to fall into one of three categories:
- Faulty Pressure Check Valves: the pressure valve is very important because it is the party of the device that enables pressure to be released and the pot to depressurize slowly, without a dangerous blowout. The problem is that one small flaw in the design or manufacturing process with this critical part can lead to disaster.
- Poorly Designed Safety Locks: Pretty much every brand and model of pressure cooker has some type of safety lock feature. Their function is to prevent the lid from simply popping off if the device is moved, or jolted, or someone attempts to open the lid with the contents are under pressure. Flawed safety lock design are a major cause of pressure cooker injuries.
- Bad Gaskets: The gasket is a circular rubber ring that enables the pressure cooker to create an airtight seal. If the gasket is defective or poorly designed it can result in a blowout and cause injuries.
Pressure Cookers Can Cause Very Serious Injuries
When pressure cookers malfunction due to defective safety features, they can cause devastating physical injuries with lifelong consequences. These appliances heat their liquid contents well above boiling temperatures. When safety features fail, the pressurized boiling liquids can be ejected at high velocity, affecting anyone and anything within a 5-10 foot radius.
The most common injury resulting from defective pressure cookers is burns. The high-temperature liquids can cause second and third-degree burns when they come into contact with skin. Severe burns, especially those on the face, are frequently cited in product liability lawsuits involving defective pressure cookers and often lead to permanent disfigurement. Consequently, the average compensation for burn injuries in personal injury settlements is typically very high, with facial burns and disfigurement increasing the potential value of the claim.
Additionally, boiling liquids ejected from a defective pressure cooker can cause severe burns and damage to the eyes, potentially leading to permanent vision loss or blindness.
Pressure Cooker Product Liability Lawsuits
Pressure cooker manufacturers have a legal duty to ensure their products meet minimum safety standards. This includes ensuring that their pressure cookers do not explode and cause severe burns to users. Manufacturers who fail to meet this obligation by selling pressure cookers with dangerous design flaws can be held liable for injuries caused by their products.
If you have suffered serious injuries due to a malfunctioning pressure cooker, contact a pressure cooker lawyer to determine if you can file a product liability lawsuit and seek significant financial compensation.
Pressure Cooker Brands Named in Lawsuits
| Instant Pot | NuWave |
| Crock Pot (Sunbeam) | Costway |
| Wolfgang Puck | Cuisinart |
| Presto | Ninja |
Pressure Cooker Injury Lawsuits Usually Result in Settlement
Hundreds of pressure cooker product liability injury lawsuits have been filed across the country over the last few years. These lawsuits have been filed against over a dozen different brands and manufacturers, although they all allege similar product defects and injuries.
The overwhelming majority of these pressure cooker injury lawsuits have been resolved by out of court settlements. In fact, as far as we are aware no pressure cooker product liability case has ever gone to trial. Why? The reason the manufacturers prefer to settle these cases quickly and quietly is because they don’t want their products to be viewed as potentially dangerous, which would deter consumers from buying them.
Unfortunately, we don’t know what pressure cooker injury lawsuits are settling for. The amount of the pressure cooker injury settlements are strictly confidential and the plaintiffs who accept settlements are required to sign confidentiality agreements. We can say, however, that the settlement payouts are pretty high, otherwise you wouldn’t see such a high rate of the cases settling.
Pressure Cooker Lawsuit News & Updates:
June 2024: Tristar Products, which is a major manufacturer of pressure cookers, recently tried to get a pressure cooker product liability lawsuit against it dismissed on the grounds that the dispute was subject to arbitration. Tristar argued that all of its pressure cooker devices contain an “arbitration agreement” inside the box along with the product manual. Amazingly, lawyers for Tristar claimed that included this unilateral agreement in the product box meant that purchasers agreed to waive their right to a jury trial in favor of arbitration. Not surprisingly, a federal judge flatly rejected that argument, explaining that customers did not actually assent to the arbitration agreement.
March 2024: A new pressure cooker injury lawsuit was filed in federal against NuWave LLC alleging that the company’s NuWave Nutri-Pot 6Q Digital Pressure Cooker was defective. Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that the device’s “Sure-Lock Safety System” was defectively designed and that defect caused the lid to blow off resulting in serious injuries to a Maryland woman.
January 2024: Best Buy and Midea America Corp. were named as defendants in a recently filed pressure cooker injury lawsuit involving an Insignia brand electric pressure cooker. The specific model named in the complaint was the Insignia 8 Qt Multi-Function Pressure Cooker. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Minnesota, claimed that defects in the device design caused it to explode resulting in major facial burns.
December 2023: A new pressure cooker consumer fraud lawsuit was filed in California. The lawsuit alleges that Maxi-Matic USA, Inc. violated California consumer protection laws by making various misrepresentations about the safety of its Elite Bistro brand electric pressure cookers. The lawsuit was filed as a state class action and seeks economic damages on behalf of all consumer in California that purchased the devices.
August 2023: A consumer class action was filed in federal court seeking compensation for all consumers who purchased Instant Pot pressure cookers. The class action seeks economic damages in the form of partial refunds for Instant Pot purchasers on the grounds that the devices have fault safety features which make them unreasonably dangerous.
Contact Us About Pressure Cooker Lawsuits
Contact our national pressure cooker injury lawyers today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.