Pressure Cooker And Multi-Cooker Recalls: When Kitchen Appliances Cause Severe Burns

Pressure cookers and multi-cookers are often pitched as safe, time-saving kitchen helpers. For the most part, they are. But when they fail, the outcome isn’t just inconvenient, it can be life-altering.

Over the past several years, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled a growing number of these appliances due to serious safety issues. Many of the problems involve faulty lids, defective locking systems, or unclear instructions that don’t properly explain the risks. In too many cases, these failures have caused severe burns and lasting injuries, often when the user was doing everything right.

Why pressure cooker failures are so dangerous 

Pressure cookers work by trapping steam inside a sealed pot, building up pressure to cook food faster. When everything works as it should, they can be a real time-saver. But when that pressure is released the wrong way, the results can be devastating. Scalding steam and boiling liquids can erupt instantly, often causing second- or third-degree burns to the face, hands, chest, and arms, the very areas most exposed during normal use.

What makes these incidents especially dangerous is how fast they happen. There’s usually no warning. A lid that looks securely locked can suddenly fly off. A pressure indicator might say it’s safe to open when it’s not. And in those split seconds, there’s no time to react or protect yourself.

Common defects behind pressure cooker recalls

CPSC recall notices and injury reports often point to the same kinds of problems, flaws that put users at risk, even when they’re using the pressure cooker exactly as directed.

Some of the most common issues include:

• Lid locks that fail, allowing the cooker to open while it’s still pressurized
• Pressure indicators that say it’s safe when it isn’t
• Weak seals or poorly designed components that can’t handle normal use
• Confusing or incomplete instructions on how to release pressure safely
• Design choices that focus more on speed or convenience than long-term safety

Again and again, people who’ve been injured say the same thing: they followed the manual, did everything right, and still got hurt.

Product liability and pressure cooker injuries 

When a pressure cooker causes injury, the law doesn’t always require the injured person to prove the manufacturer meant to do harm. In many cases, these fall under what’s called strict product liability, which means if the product was defective and someone got hurt, the company can still be held responsible.

Most legal claims in these cases involve one of three main issues:

• Design defects, where the cooker is unsafe by nature, even when used correctly
• Manufacturing defects, like faulty gaskets, valves, or locking parts that fail during normal use
• Failure to warn, when the instructions don’t clearly explain the risks or how to use the appliance safely

It’s also important to know that a product recall doesn’t automatically clear the manufacturer of responsibility. If someone was hurt before a recall was issued, or if they never received a recall notice, the company may still be liable for the injury.

Talk to a Florida Product Liability Lawyer Today 

Halpern, Santos & Pinkert represent the interests of Florida residents who have been injured due to a dangerous or defective product. Call our Florida personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment and we can begin discussing your next steps right away.