Walmart Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Claims Lid Exploded Unexpectedly, Causing Severe Burns

Plaintiff repeats a similar story told by hundreds of other consumers who all experienced severe burn injuries when their pressure cookers’ lid safety measures failed.

A recently filed lawsuit claims that Florida resident Duyen Phan suffered severe burn injuries on December 16, 2022, when the lid of her Farberware 7-in-1 programmable pressure cooker, sold by Walmart, suddenly exploded during use.

The incident led to a complaint (PDF) being brought by Phan in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on October 17, which names Walmart, Inc. as the defendant, and alleges that the explosion and resulting injuries were caused by the pressure cooker’s defective design and lack of adequate safety features.

The Walmart pressure cooker is marketed as part of a new generation of electric models designed with advanced safety features, which are supposed to prevent the sudden explosions seen in older designs, including technology intended to keep the lid locked while contents remain pressurized.

However, Phan’s complaint adds to a growing number of similar pressure cooker lawsuits now being pursued against manufacturers of several different popular brands, such as SharkNinja, Crock-Pot, Instant Pot and others. Each of these complaints raise similar allegations that the advertised safety features failed to prevent pressure cooker explosions, which left users with severe and sometimes permanent burn injuries.

According to the complaint, Phan suffered serious and substantial burns when she went to remove the lid from the Walmart pressure cooker, believing that all of the internal pressure and steam had been released. However, although the device was supposed to lock the lid until it was safe to remove, Pham indicates that an explosive spray of scalding hot contents within the pressure cooker suddenly doused her, causing severe burns.

“The incident occurred as a result of the failure of the pressure cooker’s supposed ‘safety mechanisms,’ which purport to keep the consumer safe while using the pressure cooker. In addition, the incident occurred as a result of Defendant’s failure to redesign the pressure cooker, despite the existence of economical, safer alternative designs.”

– Duyen Phan v. Walmart Inc.

The manufacturer claims the pressure cooker has a safeguard that prevents the lid from unlocking until the float valve drops, which shouldn’t happen while the contents are pressurized. Phan’s lawsuit concludes that that design failed to protect her from injuries it should have prevented, meaning the pressure cooker is defectively and negligently designed.

Phan presents claims of design defect, failure to warn and negligence.

Pressure Cooker Safety Concerns and Lawsuits

The incident described in Phan’s lawsuit mirrors hundreds of similar reports filed in recent years. The recurring safety problems have prompted numerous lawsuits and product recalls, as regulators and manufacturers alike have acknowledged serious flaws in the pressure cooker’s design.

In 2023, a Best Buy Insignia pressure cooker recall was announced that impacted nearly 1 million devices sold at stores throughout the U.S. A separate Sensio pressure cooker recall pulled about 900,000 devices off store shelves that same year. Both recalls were linked to pressure cooker explosions caused by failures of the lid safety designs.

Given similar design problems linked to products sold by various manufacturers, including Farberware, Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot and others, financial compensation may be available to individuals who have suffered injuries as the result of an explosion. Pressure cooker injury lawyers provide free consultations to help determine those who may be eligible to pursue a lawsuit.

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