A trial is underway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, involving a woman who was seriously burned by a now-recalled pressure cooker.
The lawsuit was filed by Shirley J., a 52-year-old Air Force veteran from Texas who was using a Sunbeam 6-Quart Express Crock Pressure Cooker in May 2020 when she heard the device “beep.”
According to her lawsuit, she believed the pressure cooker was finished cooking, so she tried to open the lid. When the lid did not open, she unplugged the device and waited for the device to cool down. The third time she tried to open it, the lid exploded off the pot along with the scalding-hot contents, causing severe burns to her arm.
Lawyers claim that Sunbeam knew about the problem for years, and even hired an outside forensics company to investigate.
Investigators determined that the locking pin was defective, and could allow the lid to be removed when the pressure cooker was still under pressure. Despite these findings, lawyers allege that Sunbeam continued to sell the pressure cookers to unsuspecting consumers.
In November 2020, Sunbeam announced a recall for about 1 million Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers due to burn hazards to consumers.
According to the recall, the pressure cooker can “pressurize when the lid is not fully locked. This can cause the lid to suddenly detach while the product is in use, posing burn risks to consumers.” At the time of the recall, there were 119 reports of lid detachment, resulting in 99 burn injuries ranging from 1st-degree to 3rd-degree burns.
Her lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida — Case Number 9:23-cv-81022.
Source: Sunbeam Pressure Cooker Severely Burned Woman, Jury Told
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