Pressure Cooker Explosions: Instant Pot Lawsuits

If you or someone you know has been injured by a defective instant pot, complete a confidential case evaluation. Our personal injury lawyers have a 30+ year successful track record of holding corporations responsible for defective products, including electric pressure cookers, and are available to answer your questions.

What Can Cause an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker Explosion?

Pressure cookers have long been a time-saving kitchen appliance. They utilize a combination of heat and steam to create a high amount of pressure to cook foods quickly, resulting in flavorful dishes in far less time than conventional cooking methods. The temperature inside a pressure cooker runs approximately 40 degrees hotter than the boiling point of water, and the steam it generates, while necessary for rapid cook times, can be extremely dangerous.

If a pressure cooker’s lock, vent, lid, seal, or gasket is faulty, the pressure cooker can explode, causing severe injury or even death to anyone nearby. People who have experienced a pressure cooker explosion have suffered burns, amputations, blindness, concussions, broken bones, and disfigurement, not to mention damage to their homes.

Instant Pot Explosion Lawsuits

One client we represented came home from work one day to cook minestrone soup in her instant pot. When her pressure cooker indicated that the soup was ready, she went to open it, but the safety valve was faulty, so when she opened the lid, scalding hot soup exploded onto her face, arms, legs, and onto her kitchen floor. She slipped in the hot soup and fell to the floor, shattering her leg suffering third-degree burns everywhere the soup touched her skin. Fortunately, she has recovered. But she suffered a very serious injury that could have been avoided if her pressure cooker had not been defective.

pressure cooker explosion

Safety Concerns with Electric Pressure Cookers

Although pressure cookers have actually been around for over 300 years as stovetop appliances, they became more popular during World War II, when convenience became an increased necessity in kitchens across the U.S.

In the 1990’s, electric pressure cookers were invented, and now many brands integrate programmable features of a slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, food warmer, and even a yogurt maker. The problem with these newer electric pressure cookers is that some manufacturers have been mass producing faulty designs. Because these appliances cook at such high temperatures and scalding hot steam, just one bad part can result in a catastrophic injury.  For example:

  • If the pressure release vent is faulty, it may cause the lid to open prematurely, causing the contents to explode
  • If the lid does not seal properly, steam may eject the lid, launching boiling hot food and metal pieces all over the kitchen
  • If there is no manual safety shut off, or if the automatic shut off is defective, the appliance may overheat and cause a fire or explosion

Injuries Caused From Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Explosions

Now that we are in a post-COVID-19 era, when more of us are cooking at home, electric pressure cookers are in high demand and, unfortunately, pressure cooker injuries are on the rise. Although in general, pressure cookers can be a very safe way to conveniently provide healthy home-cooked meals, the rise in injuries is primarily due to defective pressure cooker devices available on the market today.

If you own a pressure cooker, you should search the brand name to find out if a recall has been issued for that device. Some popular name brand pressure cookers include:

  • ALDI Chef’s Collection Pressure Cooker
  • Bella Cucina “Zip Cooker”
  • Bistro Pressure Cookers
  • Blusmart (sold on Amazon)
  • Breville Fast Slow and Fast Slow Pro Pressure Cooker
  • Cook’s Essentials Pressure Cooker
  • Crofton Pressure Cooker
  • Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker
  • Double Insight (Instant Pot)
  • Elite Bistro (Electric Pressure Cooker)
  • Elite Platinum
  • Ginny’s Multi & Pressure Cookers
  • Instant Pot (Insta Pot)
  • Manttra Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker
  • Maxi-Matic Elite Electric Pressure Cooker
  • Ninja Foodi Pressure Cookers & Air Fryers
  • NuWave Pressure Cooker
  • Philippe Richard Aluminum Pressure Cooker
  • Prestige Electric Pressure Cooker
  • QVC (Electric Pressure Cooker)
  • Sunbeam Crock Pot
  • Tristar Pressure Cooker
  • Ultrex-Brand
  • Vasconia
  • Wolfgang Puck

Some of the brand names that have reported defects and/or recalls include:

All of these appliances claim to have built-in safety features, but users have reported burns, explosions and other hazards from using these electric pressure cookers.

Product Liability Lawsuits for Defective Pressure Cookers

There are many types of products that can cause injuries, and in general, product liability lawsuits that provide compensation for injury-causing defective products fall into three categories.

  • Defectively manufactured products: This involves products that became defective by mistakes made during production, or somewhere along the chain of distribution.
  • Defectively designed products: This involves products that were flawed by design, even if they were manufactured correctly according to that defective design. In the case of a faulty pressure cooker, this could mean the design for the pressure valve was flawed, or the lid was designed to not fit properly.
  • Failure to provide proper instructions or warnings: Claims such as these may also be referred to as “defective marketing,” and they involve the lack of appropriate instructions on how to use the product, or warnings of what injuries may result from improper use.

Generally speaking, product liability lawsuits are filed against any and all parties along the distribution chain of the product that caused the injury. This typically includes the manufacturer, retailer, suppliers, wholesalers, and any other distributors who may have helped bring the product to market. Other parties who may be named in a product liability lawsuit could include quality-control engineers, designers, contractors, consultants, and any other party who may have contributed to the product’s injury-causing defect.

Filing a Lawsuit After a Pressure Cooker Explosion

In one example of a defective pressure cooker lawsuit, we represented a woman who suffered severe burns and a broken leg when her pressure cooker exploded. Upon inspection of her pressure cooker, our experts found the safety valve was defective, creating the appearance that the unit was safe to open when it was still operating under high pressure. Eric Ratinoff sued the manufacturer, recovering $750,000 on the woman’s behalf.

If you or someone you know has suffered a pressure cooker explosion injury due to a faulty electric pressure cooker, you may be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering. Areas of recovery may include:

  • Past and future pain and suffering
  • Past and future medical expenses
  • Lost wages
  • Loss of ability to earn future wages
  • Life care services
  • Personal assistance & support
  • Any necessary home modifications
  • Compensation for damage to your home
  • Punitive damages
  • and more