Sunbeam Crock-Pot Lawsuit Filed After “Safety Measures” Fail To Prevent Lid Removal While Pressurized

While manufacturer has maintained that the current safety features will prevent Crockpot explosions, lawsuit indicates these statements are “flatly wrong” and the design puts consumers at risk of severe burns

A Sunbeam Crock-Pot lawsuit claims a man was severely burned after he was able to remove the lid while the contents were under pressure, despite the manufacturer’s assurances that its safety features would prevent such an incident.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Jason Miller in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana on January 13, naming Sunbeam products, Inc. and Newell Brands, Inc. as the defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Miller suffered “serious and substantial burn injuries” in January 2022, after he was able to open the Crock-Pot while the contents were still under pressure. The resulting explosion of scalding hot contents sprayed him as it was forcefully ejected from the Crock-Pot.

Miller’s claim joins a number of similar pressure cooker lawsuits filed in recent months against the makers of Sunbeam Crock-Pots as well as Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi and others, each raising similar allegations that the modern electronic devices are prone to explode when the lid is removed, even after the device indicates all steam has been released.

Modern electronic pressure cookers like the Crock-Pot pressure cooker have become popular in recent decades, amid marketing that has promoted advanced features that were supposed to prevent pressure cooker explosions that have plagued older, stove-top designs. However, Miller’s lawsuit indicates those safety measures failed, leading to his burn injuries.

“Plaintiff used his pressure cooker for the intended purpose of preparing meals for himself and/or family and did so in a manner that was reasonable and foreseeable by Defendants,” the lawsuit states. “However, the subject pressure cooker was defectively designed and manufactured by Defendants, in that it failed to properly function to prevent the lid from being removed with normal force while the unit remained pressurized, despite the appearance that all the pressure had been released, during the ordinary, foreseeable and proper use of cooking food with the product; placing the Plaintiff, his family, and similar consumers in danger while using the Pressure Cookers.”

Miller’s lawsuit claims that the allegedly fraudulent advertisements about the safety measures are more than misleading, calling them “flatly wrong,” and noting that they put consumers in harm’s way.

He presents claims of strict liability, negligence, negligent design, negligent failure to warn and breach of warranty.

Pressure Cooker Explosion Lawsuits

Miller’s complaint comes about a month after a federal jury in Colorado ordered Sunbeam and Newell to pay a woman more than $55 million for a similar incident, which led to burns over 13% of her body.

In addition, as more of these electric pressure cookers have been introduced in recent years, the CPSC has issued several similar 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.

In 2023, a Best Buy Insignia pressure cooker recall was announced for nearly 1 million devices, and a Sensio pressure cooker recall pulled about 900,000 devices off store shelves. Both were linked to pressure cooker explosions caused by failures of the lid safety designs.

Given design problems linked to products sold by various manufacturers, including Sunbeam, Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot and others, financial compensation may be available to those who have suffered injuries due to pressure cooker explosions. Pressure cooker injury lawyers provide free consultations to help determine whether individuals nationwide are eligible to pursue a lawsuit.