Amazon Faces Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Over Instant Pot Burn Injuries

Two-year-old child suffered severe burn injuries as a result of the pressure cooker’s ability to be opened while its contents were still under pressure, lawsuit claims.

A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the company failed to recognize design defects in the Instant Pot’s lid safety mechanism, which allowed the lid to open while the cooker was still pressurized, causing scalding contents to be ejected on her child.

Modern electronic pressure cookers like the Instant Pot have gained widespread popularity in recent years, largely due to marketing claims that suggested they were designed to avoid the risk of pressure cooker explosions that have plagued older, stove-top devices. 

Lid locking mechanisms and other safety features have been touted by manufacturers, indicating that the pressure cookers include sensors or interlocks that detect internal pressure, and automatically engage a lock to secure the lid. The goal is to ensure that users cannot accidentally open the cooker until pressure has been fully released, reducing the risk of explosions or scalding injuries.

However, a number of Pressure Cooker explosion lawsuits have been filed in recent years, each raising similar allegations that the product’s safety mechanisms did not work as intended, which allowed the pressure cooker’s lid to be removed while the contents were still cooking, even though there were no outward appearances that the food was still pressurized. As a result, the contents can be forcefully ejected as soon as the lid is removed, causing severe burn injuries.

As lawsuits over defective lid locking mechanisms have mounted, the manufacturer of Instant Pot, Instant Brands, was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023. However, claims continue to be filed against manufacturers of similar products, and major retailers like Amazon, alleging that they sold a defective and unreasonably dangerous product, without adequate warnings and instructions.

In a complaint (PDF) filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on April 8, Nina Parent indicates that she purchased an Instant Brands Instant Pot Programmable Smartcooker through Amazon.com, which is marketed as possessing “10 proven safety mechanisms.”

The lawsuit names Amazon.com, Inc. as the sole defendant, pursuing damages on behalf of her minor child, who was identified with only the initials “V.P.” in the lawsuit.

Parent indicates that Amazon had already issued a recall for Instant Pot pressure cookers on July 15, 2015, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), after receiving reports of the product shocking consumers while they were using it.

In addition to this recall, the lawsuit indicates Amazon also should have been aware of the ability for the lid on the pressure cooker purchased by Parent to be removed while its contents were still under pressure.

As a result of this specific defect, Parent says that her pressure cooker’s lid was able to be removed while the contents were under pressure on or about May 5, 2023, which caused the contents to be forcefully ejected, resulting in severe burns to her two-year-old child, V.P., she indicates.

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s conduct, Plaintiffs in this case incurred significant and painful bodily injuries, medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, and diminished enjoyment of life,” Parent said in her complaint.

She is raising allegations against Amazon of strict liability and negligence, and seeking damages in excess of $75,000, as well as punitive damages.

Pressure Cooker Explosion Lawsuits

Parent’s complaint comes amid a slew of pressure cooker explosion lawsuits, which have followed multiple CPSC recalls involving defective lid designs that allowed the cookers to be opened while still pressurized—resulting in violent eruptions of hot food and liquid, and causing serious burn injuries. 

Nearly 1 million Best Buy Insignia pressure cookers and approximately 900,000 Sensio pressure cookers were recalled in 2023 due to safety concerns. Both recalls were issued after reports of explosions tied to defective safety lid mechanisms, which failed to prevent the devices from opening while still pressurized.

In December 2024, a federal jury in Colorado awarded more than $55 million to a woman who suffered burns on 13% of her body in a pressure cooker incident involving a Sunbeam and Newell product.

Due to ongoing design flaws linked to brands like Sunbeam, Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot and others, individuals injured by exploding pressure cookers may be entitled to financial compensation. Pressure cooker injury lawyers provide free consultations to help determine whether individuals nationwide are eligible to pursue a lawsuit.