A federal court in Mississippi has entered a $1,097,000 default judgment against I.S. Appliances, the manufacturer of the Bon Appetit pressure cooker, model BAPCR010, after the company failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by a burn victim.
The judgment, entered on July 25, 2025 by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, arose from a February 2021 incident in which a 42-year-old woman suffered first and second degree burns to her chest, arms, and abdomen when the pressure cooker malfunctioned and exploded during use.
Immediately after the explosion, the victim’s daughter and niece soaked her wounds in cold water. A visit to a burn unit had to be postponed until the following day because the roads were dangerously icy. She spent two days in the hospital receiving treatment that included infection prevention measures and skin graft application.
The physical recovery took weeks and months of ongoing care. Though her injuries eventually healed, the emotional toll was significant. According to court records, the woman lost the joy she once had in cooking, and the incident left a lasting impact on her family.
When I.S. Appliances failed to offer any response or reply to the plaintiff, the U.S. District Court found the entry of default judgment appropriate and awarded $1,097,000. The court found the defendant’s liability appropriate based on its review of the case.
The Bon Appetit brand judgment is part of a broader wave of pressure cooker burn injury litigation unfolding across the country. Courts have entered several major awards in similar cases in recent years.
In December 2024, a Colorado federal jury awarded a Denver woman $55.5 million after her Sunbeam Crock-Pot Express Multi-Cooker exploded while she was cooking, causing second and third degree burns to 13% of her body. A federal judge later reduced that award to approximately $9.1 million under Colorado’s statutory damages cap.
In May 2025, an Indiana jury awarded $9 million to a woman severely burned when a Maxi-Matic Elite Bistro pressure cooker opened while still under pressure.
Federal safety regulators have also stepped in. On May 1, 2025, the CPSC announced a recall of approximately 1.8 million SharkNinja Ninja Foodi OP300 Series pressure cookers after receiving 106 reports of burn injuries, including more than 50 reports of second and third degree burns to faces and bodies.
The defect allowed the pressure-cooking lid to be opened while contents were still pressurized, causing scalding food and steam to eject forcefully from the device.
The common thread across these cases is a failure of the lid-locking or pressure-release safety system — the very mechanism manufacturers advertise to consumers as protection against exactly this type of injury.
Consumers who were burned by a defective pressure cooker may have legal options. Time limits apply to product liability claims, and anyone injured should consult a qualified attorney as soon as possible.
Editor’s note: For more information on pressure cooker lawsuits and your legal rights, please contact the law firm of Johnson Becker, PLLC. The firm is currently evaluating exploding pressure cooker cases in all 50 states.Click Here for a Free Confidential Case Consultation