Lawsuit Filed After Ninja Foodi Lid Blew Off Explosively, Spraying Hot Contents Onto California Woman

According to allegations raised in a recently filed product liability lawsuit, a California woman suffered serious burns when her Ninja Foodi pressure cooker lid blew off unexpectedly, and sprayed hot contents forcefully onto her body.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Christina McGrew in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on August 16, pursuing damages from the manufacturer of Ninja Foodi products, Sharkninja Operating, LLC.

McGrew raises allegations similar to those presented in a growing number of pressure cooker explosion lawsuits filed in recent months, each pointing to similar problems with lid safety features on modern electronic devices that have been marketed in recent years, including Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot, Crock Pot and others.

According to the lawsuit, McGrew was using a Ninja Foodi pressure cooker in August 2021, when the lid blew off explosively while the food inside was still cooking, and under extreme heat and pressure.

“While the pressure cooker was in use for cooking, the pressure cooker’s lid unexpectedly and suddenly blew off the pot in an explosive manner,” the lawsuit states. “The contents of the pressure cooker were forcefully ejected out of the pot and onto Plaintiff, causing severe, disfiguring burns.”

The lawsuit claims the Ninja Foodi was defectively and negligently designed, because Sharkninja failed to properly design the pressure cookers with adequate safety features. In addition, McGrew’s lawsuit claims the manufacturer purposefully deceived consumers by misrepresenting the safety of Ninja Foodi pressure cookers.

“Plaintiff and her family used the pressure cooker for its intended purpose of preparing meals and did so in a manner that was reasonable and foreseeable by the Defendant SharkNinja,” according to the complaint. “However, the aforementioned pressure cooker was defectively and negligently designed and manufactured by SharkNinja in that it failed to properly function as to prevent the lid from being removed with normal force while the unit remained pressurized, despite the appearance that all the pressure had been released.”

Pressure Cooker Explosion Lawsuits

Modern electronic pressure cookers have become increasingly popular in recent decades, amid marketing that has promoted advanced safety features that were supposed to prevent pressure cooker explosions that have plagued older, stove-top designs. Products have been marketed under a number of brand names, through social media, websites and home shopping stations.

Most of the problems involve similar pressure cooker burn injuries which occurred after the lid was removed while the contents were still under high pressure, typically resulting in burns covering a large percentage of the user’s body. However, other injuries linked to pressure cookers have included eye injuries, broken bones and other complications that resulted from electrocutions, spills or explosions, like in Smith’s case.

As more of these electric pressure cookers have been introduced in recent years, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued several pressure cooker recalls over problems where lids were able to be opened while contents are under pressure, allowing hot contents to be expelled and causing a scald or burn injury to individuals in the immediate area.

Earlier this month, the CPSC announced a Sensio pressure cooker recall due to the risk of lid explosions. The recall was announced following dozens of reports of pressure cooker explosions and burn injuries when the lids were removed.