NuWave Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Claims Safety System Failed, Causing Severe Burns

Lawsuit alleges NuWave falsely promoted Nutri-Pot’s safety features, while concealing defects that allow the pressure cooker lid to open while device remained pressurized.

An Illinois woman has filed a product liability lawsuit alleging she suffered severe burn injuries that required skin grafts and hospitalization, after a defective NuWave Nutri-Pot pressure cooker opened while still pressurized, causing the scalding hot contents to spew all over her body.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Tanieka Manoloff in the U.S. District Court of Illinois on June 4, naming NuWave LLC as the defendant.

The NuWave Nutri-Pot Digital Pressure Cooker is a consumer kitchen appliance that uses high pressure to rapidly cook food. Like many other modern electronic pressure cookers, it is designed with a lid safety system that is intended to prevent the cooker from being opened while the contents remain under pressure.

When a pressure cooker lid opens before internal pressure has been released, superheated steam, liquid and food can erupt from the pot with tremendous force. Users standing near the appliance may have little time to react, often suffering burns to their face, arms, chest or other exposed areas.

Amid hundreds of reports involving severe burns suffered by consumers nationwide, a growing number of pressure cooker lawsuits have been filed in recent years, each involving similar allegations that design defects caused the lid safety feature to fail.

Pressure Cooker Burn Injury Allegations

According to Manoloff’s lawsuit, she was using her NuWave pressure cooker on September 7, 2025, when she was able to open the lid without any indication that the device was still under pressure.

The complaint indicates the lid’s Sure-Lock Safety System feature failed due to a design defect. As a result, she suffered severe second- and third-degree burns to her torso and breast, which required extensive medical treatment, hospitalization and surgical intervention, including a skin graft procedure.

Manoloff states that NuWave aggressively markets the pressure cooker for its safety features, and claims the lid cannot be opened while in use or while there is built up pressure in the device.

She goes on to claim the company knew or should have known about the design defect, yet continued to sell the product and failed to warn consumers or issue a Nutri-Pot recall. Instead, the defective Sure-Lock Safety System allowed the pressure cooker to be opened and spew scalding contents onto users.

The filing also alleges NuWave failed to redesign the pressure cooker and failed to properly test it despite claiming “safety is a core value” of the company.

“Defendant 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.”

— Tanieka Manoloff v. NuWave LLC

The complaint raises allegations of strict liability, negligence, breach of express warranty and breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. Manoloff is seeking compensation for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life.

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