NutriNinja Blender Lawsuit Filed After Bullet-Shaped Canister Exploded and Blade Detached

Sharkninja faces a product liability lawsuit brought by a New Jersey woman who was seriously injured when a NutriNinja blender exploded, after the blade detached from the base during normal use of the product.

Sarah Arey filed the complaint (PDF) earlier this week in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleging that the bullet-shaped blender was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous, and that the manufacturer should have issued a NutriNinja recall due to the serious risks posed for consumers.

NutriNinja is part of a new generation of blenders, designed with a base canister that doubles as a re-usable plastic cup for smoothies or other drinks. Once the cup is secured to the blade assembly and placed on the blender, the user has to push down on the cup to engage the high-speed motor that rotates the blade, chopping the contents and causing them to heat up.

NutriNinja Explosions Are Inherent Risk of a Defective Blender Design

According to the NutriNinja blender lawsuit, the design causes the contents to get so hot that pressure inside the cup can force it to separate from the blade while the blender is running, causing hot contents from the NutriNinja blender to explode outward. This exposes users to a risk of severe burns and injuries, which are not disclosed by the manufacturer.

“In a short amount of time the fast-spinning blades can unexpectedly heat up its contents, such that if the blender explodes, the users is at risk of severe burns or lacerations and injuries requiring medical attention,” the complaint states. “The NutriNinja blenders pose a safety risk to consumers and other individuals who may be in close proximity to the NutriNinja blenders when it explodes.”

Even if the cup does not separate from the blender while in use, the lawsuit indicates the heated contents can also cause increased pressure inside the blender cup, which can also cause them to explode out forcefully when the top is removed, since there is no pressure relieve built into the plastic cup, other than unscrewing the lid.

Lawsuits Over Defective Blenders and Pressure Cookers Exploding

Arey raises allegations similar to those presented in a NutriBullet lawsuit filed last year, involving another blender featuring a similar design, where the bullet-shaped canister exploded and sprayed a user with sharp pieces and the blenders contents.

“The NutriNinja blenders are defectively designed and manufactured, in that, the extremely fast-moving blade of the blenders heat the contents of the sealed bullet-shaped canister, which can (and does) unexpectedly explode when being used in its normal and intended manner by consumers,” the lawsuit states. “Consumers use the NutriNinja blenders without knowledge of the inherent risks.”

Similar design problems have also been linked to digital pressure cookers over the last couple of years. Like with the NutriBullet and NutriNinja blenders, dozens of pressure cooker explosion lawsuits have been filed alleging that a lack of adequate features caused the units to explode due to built up pressure that was not fully released during the coking process.