Instant Pot Duo Nova Lawsuit Alleges Defective Pressure Cooker Caused Serious Burns

Complaint alleges safety features in Instant Pot pressure cookers may fail, resulting in catastrophic burn injuries.

A Texas woman has filed a product liability lawsuit alleging she suffered severe bodily injuries after an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker ejected scalding liquid and other contents onto her body, after advertised safety features failed.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Mylasia Hadnot in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on July 23. It names Instant Brands LLC, Instant Brands Inc. and Corelle Brands LLC as defendants.

Hadnot claims the Instant Pot has a defective design that allows the lid to be opened while the device is still pressurized. Furthermore, she argues the product’s advertised safety features do not protect consumers.

Electric Pressure Cooker Lawsuits

The case joins a growing number of pressure cooker lawsuits filed in recent years, which raise similar allegations against manufacturers of several different major brands, including Instant Pot, Ninja and Crock-Pot, indicating that defective designs may cause consumers to experience serious burn injuries.

The complaints generally involve incidents where pressure cooker lids opened before the internal pressure was fully released, causing scalding food, steam and liquid to erupt from the appliance.

Plaintiffs claim the locking mechanisms and other safety features can fail to prevent the cookers from being opened while still pressurized. These alleged defects have resulted in pressure cooker explosions, severe burns, permanent scarring and other life-altering injuries.

Instant Pot Duo Nova 60 Allegations

Hadnot’s lawsuit indicates that on July 18, 2021, she was using an Instant Pot Duo Nova 60 Pressure Cooker when the safety features failed, allowing the lid to be released while the internal contents were still under intense pressure.

When she opened the lid, scalding hot contents were ejected from the device onto her, causing serious and substantial bodily injury and damages.

The filing points out that Instant Pot is marketed as “easy to use” and having “proven safety features.” The product is also advertised as having pressure locking lids, which is supposed to ensure the lid remains in place when pressurized, with 10 safety features to prevent injuries.

However, Hadnot argues these safety features that are so prominently advertised often fail to keep consumers safe.

Moreover, the complaint indicates Instant Brands knew or should have known of the defects, yet the company put profit over safety, ignoring or concealing its knowledge of the defects while continuing to sell the defective product.

Additionally, Instant Brands allegedly failed to redesign the pressure cooker, even though there were safer, more economical designs available.

“Defendants ignored and/or concealed its knowledge of these defects in its pressure cookers from the Plaintiff in this case, as well as the public in general, in order to continue generating a profit from the sale of said pressure cookers, demonstrating a callous, reckless, willful, depraved indifference to the health, safety and welfare of Plaintiff and consumers like her.”

— Mylasia Hadnot v. Instant Brands LLC et al.

The lawsuit raises allegations of strict liability, negligence, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, breach of implied warranty of merchantability and punitive damages. It seeks compensation for significant and painful bodily injuries, medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, economic losses and diminished enjoyment of life.

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