An Oregon woman recently filed a new Instant Pot lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. She claims that the safety features on the cooker did not work as advertised and that she suffered from serious injuries as a result.
She names both Midea American Corp., the manufacturers of the cooker, and Target, where she bought the cooker, as defendants. She seeks compensation for her injuries, economic losses, and pain and suffering.
Plaintiff Claims Cooker Safety Features Don’t Work
In her complaint, the plaintiff attaches a copy of the user’s manual that comes with the Instant Pot Duo Crisp. The manual touts the safety features of the product and claims that these features prevent the unit from being opened while in use.
The plaintiff, however, argues that these safety features are defective and that the defects manifest themselves when “the lid of the pressure cooker is removable with built-up pressure, heat, and steam still inside the unit.”
When a user removes the lid under these circumstances, she adds, “the pressure trapped within the unit causes the scalding hot contents to be projected from the unit and into the surrounding area, including onto the unsuspecting customers, their families, and other bystanders.”
The defendants knew about these defects, she asserts, but “has nevertheless put profit ahead of safety by continuing to sell its pressure cookers to consumers,” and failing to warn of the potential dangers.
The plaintiff was using the cooker on August 21, 2022, when she was able to rotate and open the lid while the cooker was still under pressure. The contents were forcefully ejected outward, causing her to suffer from substantial burn injuries.
Instant Brands in Bankruptcy Proceedings
On June 12, 2023, Instant Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply issues. An automatic stay was imposed.
The court later approved a restructuring plan under which the company will reorganize its housewares under new ownership. Instant Brands’ lenders will offer financing to help the company exit bankruptcy.
Because Instant Brands is protected under the bankruptcy, the plaintiff filed her complaint against Target and the Midea Corporation, which markets, imports, distributes, and sells the pressure cookers.
Thousands of Pressure Cookers Recalled for Dangerous Defects
Pressure cookers like the Instant Pot have become more popular in recent years because of they allow users to make homemade meals quickly. Frequent reports of problems with them, however, have led to multiple product recalls.
In October 2023, for example, Best Buy recalled 930,000 Insignia pressure cookers because they had incorrect volume markings on the inner pot. According to the Consumer Products Safety Committee (CPSC), “This can cause consumers to overfill the pot and hot food and liquids to be ejected when the pressure cooker is vented using the quick release method or opened while its contents are pressurized, posing a burn hazard to consumers.”
At the time of the recall, Best Buy was aware of 31 reports of incidents in which the cookers exploded, including 17 reports of burn injuries, “some of which involved reports of second-degree and severe burns.”
Best Buy offered to replace the product free of charge.
Exclusively focused on representing plaintiffs, especially in mass tort litigation, Eric Chaffin prides himself on providing unsurpassed professional legal services in pursuit of the specific goals of his clients and their families. Both his work and his cases have been featured in the national press, including on ABC’s Good Morning America.
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