Precise Heat Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Attorney

What is the Precise Heat Pressure Cooker?

The Precise Heat™ KTELPCS 6.3Qt Electric Pressure Cooker with Stainless Steel Inner Pot features 6 cooking functions, 1000 watts of power, and a 4-digit display. The electric pressure cookers are designed to protect from overpressure, over-temperature, and leakage.

What’s the Problem?

Pressure cookers build up an extreme amount of heat quickly, and they can easily lead to an accident. If the safety features that are designed to prevent the lid from opening during pressurized conditions malfunction, the pressure cookers could explode, causing severe burns and other injuries. Pressure cookers can also cause damage to your home, and in some cases, even death.

Related Article: Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Update

Pressure Cookers Injuries

Injuries sustained from exploding pressure cookers and instant pots include:

• Severe burns
• Hot steam burns
• Second-degree burns
• Third-degree burns
• Eye injuries and blindness
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Scalds
• Permanent scarring
• Disfigurement
• Emergency medical treatment
• Kitchen and/or property damage

Related Article: Why Do Pressure Cookers Explode?

Have There Been Recalls on Pressure Cookers?

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2015, at least 35,600 Breville Pressure Cookers were recalled after the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received 5 reports of steam or hot contents escaping from the pressure cooker, causing burns to users [1].

The sealing gasket can be incorrectly inserted upside down on the lid which can allow the unexpected release of built-up pressure, CPSC said. This poses a risk of burns to the user or consumers nearby. Breville USA has received five reports of steam or hot contents escaping from the pressure cooker, resulting in five reports of burns, including second degree burns to the hands, arms or stomach.

As claimed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, also in 2015, approximately 1,000 Instant Pot Pressure Cookers were recalled due to a risk of electric shock. At the time, the CPSC was aware of at least 3 reports of shocks in users of the pressure cookers [2].

The thermal probe in the base can conduct electricity throughout the cooker, posing a risk of electric shock,” CPSC said. The firm has received reports from three consumers of being shocked while using the pressure cooker.

The CPSC has received reports of pressure cookers not working as intended, causing injury to consumers. One such report involved a consumer who attempted to open the lid to her pressure cooker when the timer ran out. After the consumer removed the lock, the lid burst open, scalding the consumer.

Pressure Cookers Can Be Dangerous When Safety Features Fail

Potentially defective pressure cooker safety features may include:

• Lid Locks and Safety Devices – Locks are supposed to make it impossible to remove the defective pressure cooker lid or unlock the device until it is completely depressurized. Systems are also supposed to prevent the cooker from pressurizing until the lid is fully secured in place. If the lid is not on correctly, the pressure cooker should switch to a “keep warm” or “sauté” mode.
• Pressure Release Valves and Anti-Block Vents – Before allowing the lid to be removed, steam is supposed to be released through a valve or vent. Consumers have been told that advanced “anti-block” features prevent clogging. Food or liquid should never be able to accumulate and prevent the release of steam through the pressure valve.
• Automatic Pressure Control – Sensor mechanisms are supposed to keep the pressure inside the cooker within a safe range. If the pressure gets too high, the cooker should automatically shut off or release steam to lower the pressure.
• Pressure Pot Lowering Features – Many defective pressure cookers contain features that are supposed to automatically reduce pressure if it gets too high, by dropping the inner pot. This may allow the release of steam around the rim of the lid, but should not allow hot contents to blow out of the pressure cooker.
• Auto Shut-Off Temperature Controls – When the temperature inside a pressure cooker reaches the preset value, the power should be automatically shut off to prevent further pressure from developing. Extreme temperatures should never be reached, as a fuse is supposed to automatically disconnect power before this occurs. If the user forgets to place the inner pot in the pressure cooker, if the heating element is not in good contact with the inner pot, or if scorched food develops on the bottom of the pressure cooker, it should stop heating.

According to ConsumerNotice.org [3]

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Class Action Lawsuit

As stated by PR News Wire, in June 2022, multiple plaintiffs filed a federal class action lawsuit alleging Instant Pot pressure cookers are “dangerously defective” because their lids can open while the contents are still under pressure, causing second and third-degree burns. The Instant Pot Lawsuit seeks to consolidate customers who purchased an Instant Pot and reimburse them for their economic losses, such as the cost of replacing their Instant Pot pressure cooker [4].

Instant Pot is the industry leader in electric pressure cookers and typically dominates the best-seller list on Amazon.com. However, those profits have come at the expense of consumers, whose safety was put at risk by defective Instant Pot lids and locking mechanisms.

Instant Pot touts “10 safety features” on its devices, including an automatically locking lid that prevents it from opening under pressure. However, attorneys are aware of at least 177 incidents in which an Instant Pot user has suffered substantial burn injuries due to an Instant Pot pressure cooker explosion.

How To File an Exploding Pressure Cooker Injury Lawsuit

1. Complete Our case evaluation form below, including your contact information and a brief description of your pressure cooker accident.

2. You will be contacted by the product liability lawyers at Schmidt & Clark, LLP, to help determine if financial compensation may be available for your injuries.

3. If our lawyers determine that we can help with your case, THEN YOU DECIDE whether to move forward and hire our law firm to pursue your pressure cooker case.

Contending with Settlement Offers from Pressure Cooker Manufacturers

Pressure cooker manufacturers may be made aware of their product’s failure before you have time to reach out to an attorney. In these cases, an insurance provider may contact you with a settlement offer before you can calculate the extent of your accident-related losses.

It is not in your best interest to accept a settlement offer without first consulting an attorney. Insurance providers will use underhanded tricks to try and cheat you out of the financial support to which you may be entitled. If you sign certain documents too early, you can limit your right to take legal action against a company.

With that in mind, reach out to the law offices of Schmidt & Clark, LLP, as soon as you can after a pressure cooker explosion. We’ll take the burden of pressure cooker explosion lawsuit research off of your back so that you can recover in peace. In turn, we’ll fight for the maximum compensation you need to contend with your losses.

Pressure Cooker Litigation Status

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over the years, and the cases are in various stages of litigation. A few have ended in settlements, and attorneys are still accepting cases. Many plaintiffs have already filed pressure cooker explosion lawsuits.

In August 2021, Ralph L. Bollig, Jr. filed a lawsuit against Sunbeam Products Inc. alleging that his Crock-Pot pressure cooker malfunctioned and allowed him to remove the lid while it was still pressurized. When the lid was removed, scalding liquid ejected from the pressure cooker causing serious burns, according to the lawsuit.

In July 2021, Deetra Marshall filed a lawsuit against Instant Brands Inc. after her allegedly defective pressure cooker exploded, causing serious and substantial burn injuries. Marshall claims Instant Brands, Inc. misled consumers about the Instant Pot’s safety.

Settlement Value

The potential settlement value of lawsuits first depends on the nature and severity of the physical injuries suffered by the plaintiff. The most common type of injury caused by pressure cooker explosions is thermal burns. The settlement value of burn injuries depends on the severity of the burn and the location of the burn.

A typical 2nd-degree burn injury in an auto accident case has an average settlement value range of $25,000 to $75,000. The average compensation payout for 3rd-degree burn injuries in auto tort cases is between $100,000 to $1,000,000. These averages are going to be slightly higher in product liability cases because the compensation value in auto cases is often limited by the amount of available insurance coverage.

The average settlement compensation payout for a lawsuit is typically around $125,000 to $200,000 for 2nd-degree burns and $600,000 to $2,000,000 for third-degree burns. Cases involving facial burning with permanent disfigurement will be at the higher end of the settlement value scale.

Burn Injury Statistics Study

As stated by a study published in BMC Emergency Medicine [5], in August 2022, researchers examined U.S. emergency department (ED) visits for burns and factors associated with inter-facility transfer.

For the study, the researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of burn-related injuries from 2009–2014 using the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). They found that between the period from 2009 to 2014, there were 3,047,701 ED visits in the United States for burn-related injuries, accounting for 0.4% of all ED visits.

Of these, 108,583 visits (3.6%) resulted in inter-facility transfers. This equates to approximately 18,097 inter-facility transfers per year. Burns involving more than 10% total body surface area (TBSA) were associated with a 10-fold increase in the likelihood of transfer compared to burns involving less than 10% TBSA.

Related Articles:

• Healthy Cuisine Pressure Cooker Suit
• Manttra Pressure Cooker Lawsuit
• Maxam Pressure Cooker Litigation

See all related product liability lawsuits our attorneys covered so far.

Get a Free Precise Heat Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Evaluation With Our Lawyers

The Product Liability Litigation Group at Schmidt & Clark, LLP law firm is an experienced team of jury trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Precise Heat Pressure Cooker Litigations. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently representing burn injury victims in all 50 states.

Free Confidential Precise Heat Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Evaluation: Again, if you or a loved one suffered serious burns or other serious injuries caused by an exploding pressure cooker, you should contact our law firm immediately for a free review of your potential case. You may be entitled to recover damages and financial compensation for medical bills and lost wages by filing a Precise Heat pressure cooker explosion lawsuit and a lawyer can help.

References:

1. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2016/Breville-Recalls-Pressure-Cookers
2. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2015/Instant-Pot-Pressure-Cookers-Recalled-by-Double-Insight
3. https://www.consumernotice.org/products/pressure-cookers/
4. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/johnson–becker-pllc-comments-on-instant-pot-class-action-lawsuit-301563549.html
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9380358/