In today’s fast-paced world, many consumers are searching for ways to speed up the laborious process of cooking meals at home. From the popular George Foreman grill to the newest trend of air fryers, people are always searching for ways to cut down on the time it takes to cook a family meal and reduce clean up time in order to spend more time eating and enjoying their meals.
Pressure cookers are one of the latest in the helpful-kitchen appliance trend, with none being more famous than the Instapot, a multicooker that helps to consolidate the cooking and preparing of food to just one device. Pressure cookers are popular for their use of immense pressure to help speed up the cook time of large dishes while retaining their flavor. There are countless videos of home cooks using pressure cookers to make tasty steak dinners or cinnamon rolls in just 25 minutes or less.
Unfortunately, several brands of pressure cookers can be defective or incredibly dangerous. Most notably:
- Breville Fast Slow Cookers
- Tristar Power Pressure Cooker
- Tristar Power Pressure Cooker XL
- Gourmia Express Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
- Crock-Pot Express Multi-Cooker
- Instant Gem 65 Multi-Cooker (this model is not a pressure cooker, but a multi-cooker recalled due to fire hazard)
- Instant Pot “Smart” Model Pressure Cooker
- Nutrex Pressure Cooker
- Ultrex-Brand Pressure Cooker
- Wolfgang Puck Pressure Cooker
- Philippe Richards Pressure Cooker
- Mirro Pressure Cooker
- NuWave Nutri-Pot Pressure Cooker
- Power Pressure Cooker XL
- Elite Bistro Pressure Cooker
- Cook’s Essentials Pressure Cooker
- Fagor Pressure Cooker
- Cuisinart Pressure Cooker
- Breville Fast Slower Cookers
- HSN Ultrex Pressure Cooker
- Prestige Smartplus Pressure Cooker
- Ginny’s Pressure Cooker
- Crock-Pot Express Pressure Cooker
- Ninja Foodi and Ninja Instant
- Brentwood Select Easy Pot
- ALDI Crofton Pressure Cookers
Pressure cookers typically fail when the vent to release the pressure inside of the pot is defective, the lid of the pot is designed poorly or when the advertised safety features of the pressure cooker malfunction.
Pressure cookers use a combination of heat, steam and pressure to cook food. During the cook time, heat and pressure builds inside of the pot and whenever the meal is ready, a vent near the top of the pot can be used to release the pressure. If the lid of the pressure cooker is removed before enough steam and pressure have exited the pot, the remaining pressure inside of the pressure cooker could forcefully eject the lid off the pot and spill its hot contents everywhere. Moreover, a thick, plastic or metal lid flying off a pressure cooker has the potential to strike and severely injure anyone nearby. A faulty vent could also open unexpectedly and spray out boiling hot water or liquid.
Some defective pressure cookers lack a manual shut off safety feature to prevent the device from exploding or occasionally the safety feature itself is defective. Defective pressure cookers may provide inaccurate pressure readings, causing home cooks to believe it is safe to remove the lid when it is not. Defective pressure cookers may also have a design flaws in the lid which may prevent it from closing properly or allow for pressure to build inside of the pot when the lid is not properly sealed.
Injuries from pressure cookers are on the rise due to an increase in their use and increase in Americans staying home to cook meals. Injuries from defective pressure cookers include disfigurement, permanent scarring, severe burns, scalds, cuts, bleeding, eye injuries and traumatic brain injuries.
At Armstrong Lee & Baker LLP, we have experience representing clients who have been injured by malfunctioning pressure cookers. If you have been injured by a pressure cooker, you may be entitled to:
- 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
The attorneys at Armstrong Lee & Baker LLP will complete a free, no obligation consultation for any pressure cooker injury. If you have been injured by a defective pressure cooker, please contact our office at 832-402-6637 to schedule your free consultation.
Scott Armstrong obtains remarkable results for his clients. He has successfully tried numerous cases to favorable verdicts and reached significant settlements on his clients’ behalf. In the process, he has recovered millions for his clients.