Breville Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Filed Over Lid Failure

Plaintiff indicates the lid of her Breville pressure cooker exploded off, spraying her with scalding steam and liquid

A Tenessee woman has filed a product liability lawsuit, alleging her Breville pressure cooker exploded after the lid failed and blew off while the contents were still under pressure, causing her to suffer painful and permanent burn injuries.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Hannah Frazier in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on June 1, presenting claims against Breville USA, Inc., the manufacturer of the “Fast Slow Cooker Pressure Cooker”.

According to the lawsuit, Frazier was using the Breville pressure cooker to prepare a roast in June 2022, when she suffered her injuries. Frazier indicates that when the cooking cycle was done, she opened the pressure release valve and waited several minutes for the steam to release.

After seeing the steam was still releasing, Frazier pressed another button on the Breville pressure cooker which was supposed to manually release the steam. After it appeared all the steam was supposed to be released, Frazier tried to remove the lid, but instead it failed and blew off with explosive force, spraying her with super-heated liquid and steam.

The lawsuit claims Breville knew or should have known about problems with the safety features and risk that the lids may fail. However, the manufacturer failed to warn consumers or redesigned the Breville pressure cooker to be safer for consumers to use.

“Specifically, the lid of the pressure cooker is removable while its contents are still under pressure. When the lid is removed under such circumstances, the pressure trapped within the unit causes scalding hot contents to be projected from the unit and into the surrounding area, including onto the unsuspecting consumers or bystanders,” Frazier’s lawsuit states. “Breville knew or should have known of this defect but has nevertheless put profit before safety by continuing to sell its pressure cookers to consumers, failing to warn consumers of the serious risks posed by the defects.”

Frazier presents claims of strict liability, negligence and breach of warranty. She is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

Pressure Cooker Explosion Lawsuits

Frazier’s case raises allegations similar to those presented in a growing number of pressure cooker lawsuits filed in recent months, each pointing to design problems with many modern electronic pressure cookers, including Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot, Crock Pot and others, which lack safety features that effectively prevent the lid from being removed while the contents are still under intense pressure.

Modern electronic pressure cookers have become popular in recent decades, amid marketing that has promoted advanced safety features that were supposed to prevent pressure cooker explosions that have plagued older, stove-top designs. Products have been marketed under a number of brand names, through social media, websites and home shopping stations.

Most of the problems involve similar pressure cooker burn injuries which occurred after the lid exploded off while the contents were still pressurized, typically resulting in burns covering a large percentage of the user’s body. However, other injuries linked to pressure cookers have included eye injuries, broken bones and other complications that resulted from electrocutions, spills or explosions.

As more of these electric pressure cookers have been introduced in recent years, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued several pressure cooker recalls over problems where lids were able to be opened while contents are under pressure, allowing hot contents to be expelled and causing a scald or burn injury to individuals in the immediate area.