Pressure cookers are a staple of convenience in kitchens across America. Alarmingly, they’re also at the center of serious product liability lawsuits. Pressure cooker explosion lawsuits allege that, despite promises of safety from manufacturers, defective pressure cookers have caused severe injuries to numerous people.
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If you’ve been harmed by a pressure cooker explosion, understanding your legal rights is essential. Call Ankin Law at 312-600-0000 to set up your free consult. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know.
How Pressure Cooker Explosions Happen
Pressure cookers from brands like Sunbeam, Instant Pot, Crock-Pot, NuWave, and others are designed to trap steam inside a sealed pot, raising the boiling point of water and cooking food faster. The problem? When safety mechanisms fail, these devices can become ticking time bombs.
Manufacturers tout features like pressure release valves, locking lids, and temperature controls. But design flaws, substandard materials, manufacturing defects, and inadequate warnings have led to pressure cookers that explode without warning. When they fail, scalding hot food, metal shards, and heavy lids can launch across kitchens like missiles, leaving victims with catastrophic injuries like burns, deep lacerations, broken bones, and permanent disfigurement.
In many cases, the issue isn’t a one-off manufacturing error. It’s a systemic design failure that affects thousands of units across multiple product lines.
Common Injuries from Pressure Cooker Explosions
The injuries associated with these explosions are not minor inconveniences. They are life-altering, and in many cases the damage is permanent. Victims often face:
- Second- and third-degree burns requiring skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries
- Facial injuries and blindness from flying debris
- Hand and wrist fractures when users try to shield themselves
- Traumatic brain injuries from impacts caused by flying parts
- Permanent scarring and emotional trauma
Many people also suffer from extended hospitalization, lost income, and long-term disability, creating financial burdens that compound the physical and emotional damage.
Brands Frequently Named in Pressure Cooker Lawsuits
Several major brands have been repeatedly called out in pressure cooker explosion lawsuits. Some of the most frequently named include:
- Instant Pot
- Crock-Pot (specifically certain models of their pressure cookers)
- Tristar Products (makers of the Power Pressure Cooker XL)
- Breville
- NuWave
- Ninja
These are not just obscure knockoff brands that are causing injuries. Well-known companies have been caught cutting corners, failing to warn users of known pressure cooker risks, and denying responsibility after injuries occur.
Legal Grounds for a Pressure Cooker Lawsuit
If you were injured in a pressure cooker explosion, you may have grounds to file a product liability lawsuit. Generally, your attorney will need to show that the product was defective and that you suffered a documented severe injury that was caused by the defective pressure cooker. Our attorneys are not accepting cases involving minor pressure cooker explosion injuries at this time. To file a lawsuit with our firm, your injury must have required medical treatment by a healthcare professional. If you have medical bills because of your injury, call us to find out if you have a case.
Product liability claims usually fall into three categories:
Defective Design
This is when the pressure cooker’s design is inherently dangerous. Even if manufactured correctly, the product is unsafe for its intended use. Examples include lids that can be opened while the cooker is still pressurized or valves that clog too easily.
Manufacturing Defect
Here, the design might be safe, but something went wrong during production. Maybe the wrong materials were used, or a critical component wasn’t installed properly, making an individual unit (or batch of units) unsafe.
Failure to Warn
Manufacturers have a legal obligation to inform users of the risks associated with their products. If they fail to provide adequate instructions or warnings, and injury results, they can be held liable.
What You Can Recover in a Pressure Cooker Explosion Lawsuit
Compensation in a pressure cooker explosion lawsuit can cover a wide range of damages, including:
- Medical expenses: Emergency room visits, surgeries, rehabilitation, and future medical care
- Lost wages: Income lost due to missed work, plus future lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering: Physical pain and emotional trauma
- Disfigurement and disability: Compensation for permanent injuries
- Property damage: Replacing destroyed personal property, including kitchen renovations if necessary
In some cases, courts may even award punitive damages if it’s proven the manufacturer’s conduct was especially reckless.
The Status of Current Pressure Cooker Lawsuits
Pressure cooker lawsuits are not isolated events. In fact, many are moving forward as part of mass torts or multidistrict litigation (MDL). This means that while each plaintiff retains an individual claim, cases are grouped together to streamline pre-trial proceedings.
As of 2025, there are several active MDLs involving defective pressure cookers. Many claims have already resulted in significant settlements and judgments, and more cases are expected to proceed to trial. Manufacturers continue to fight these lawsuits aggressively, but courts are increasingly recognizing the dangers these products present.
In December 2024, a Colorado jury awarded a Denver woman $55.5 million in damages after her Sunbeam pressure cooker exploded, causing second and third-degree burns to 13% of her body. $50 million of that was punitive damages against Sunbeam and Newell. The other $5.5 million were awarded as compensatory damages to cover the victim’s economic and noneconomic losses.
If you believe you have a case, take advantage of a free case evaluation and find out if you can sue. Time is not on your side. Statutes of limitations apply, and missing a filing deadline could permanently bar your right to compensation.
What to Do if You’ve Been Injured by a Pressure Cooker Explosion
If you’ve suffered injuries from a pressure cooker explosion, taking the right steps early can make or break your case.
1. Seek Medical Attention Immediately
Your health is the top priority. Get a full medical evaluation, even if you think your injuries are minor. Burn injuries, in particular, can worsen over time if not properly treated.
2. Preserve the Evidence
Keep the pressure cooker and all its parts. Don’t throw anything away, even if it looks destroyed. Store it in a safe place and photograph everything — including your injuries, the scene of the incident, and any damage to your home.
3. Document Everything
Start a file that includes medical records, doctor’s notes, hospital bills, missed work logs, communications with the manufacturer (if any), and receipts for related expenses. The more documentation you have, the stronger your claim will be.
4. Avoid Speaking to the Manufacturer
Manufacturers may reach out with settlement offers or requests for statements. Don’t engage with them directly. Their goal is to minimize their liability — not to help you. Direct all communications through your attorney.
5. Consult an Experienced Product Liability Lawyer
Not all personal injury attorneys handle product liability cases, and even fewer have direct experience with pressure cooker lawsuits. You need a law firm that has the resources, knowledge, and tenacity to take on large manufacturers and win. Call Ankin Law.
Why Choose Ankin Law for Your Pressure Cooker Lawsuit?
At Ankin Law, we don’t just dabble in product liability — we handle it head-on. We understand the consequences a defective pressure cooker can unleash on your life. Our team has the experience to investigate your claim, hold manufacturers accountable, and make sure you recover maximum compensation.
We don’t back down from corporate giants who put their own profits ahead of your safety. We build strong cases, use top experts, and prepare every lawsuit as if it’s going to trial. That’s the level of commitment you need when the stakes are this high.
We offer free consultations, and you don’t pay us a dime unless we win your case.
How Much Is a Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Worth?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Settlements and verdicts vary depending on the severity of injuries, the strength of the evidence, and the defendant’s willingness to settle. Some pressure cooker settlements have reached six or even seven figures, especially in cases involving serious burns, surgeries, and permanent disfigurement. To make matters more complicated, these lawsuits involve numerous manufacturers and brands, and pressure cookers with various types of defects.
Our goal at Ankin Law is simple: maximize your recovery and minimize your stress.
Don’t Wait to Protect Your Rights
The injuries caused by exploding pressure cookers are serious. So is your right to seek justice. If you’ve been hurt, don’t sit on the sidelines hoping for things to get better. Manufacturers are already lawyering up — you should too.
Reach out to Ankin Law in Chicago today for a free, no-obligation consultation. Our firm handles cases nationwide. We’ll tell you the truth about your options and fight to get you the compensation you need to move forward. Call now. 312-600-0000.
