Maxi-Matic Pressure Cooker Explosion Caused Severe Burns, Hospitalization: Lawsuit

According to allegations raised in a recently filed product liability lawsuit, an Ohio woman was severely burned when the lid suddenly exploded off a Maxi-Matic pressure cooker, spraying her with the scalding hot contents that were cooking several feet away.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Letitia Allen in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on November 20, naming Pick Five Imports, doing business as Maxi-Matic U.S.A, Inc. as the sole Defendant.

According to the lawsuit, Maxi-Matic sold a defectively designed and manufactured “Elite Platinum 8-Quart Digital Electric Pressure Cooker,” which lacked critical safety features that should have prevented the lid from coming off while the contents were still pressurized.

Similar problems have plagued a number of modern electronic pressure cookers marketed in recent years, resulting in hundreds of pressure cooker lawsuits being filed against the manufacturers throughout the federal court system.

Most of the complaints involve instances where the safety locks failed to prevent the lid from being removed when a consumer was unaware the built up steam inside the pot had not been released. However, Allen’s Maxi-Matic pressure cooker lawsuit indicates that the device exploded when it was unattended, several feet away.

Allen indicates that she first bought the pressure cooker in November 2020, and the explosion occurred more than a year later in January 2022, while she was using the pressure cooker at her mother’s home in Dearborn, Michigan, to make turkey legs when the Maxi-Matic exploded.

Unlike many reports involving pressure cooker explosions, Allen indicates that she was not opening the device at the time the lid blew off.

“Plaintiff, in the ordinary, foreseeable and proper use of the pressure cooker, was standing a few feet away from the pressure cooker when the lid of the pressure cooker suddenly exploded and boiling hot contents ejected onto her face, neck, arms, shoulders, torso and right foot,” her lawsuit states. “Following the eruption, Plaintiff was covered in scalding hot food and liquid. Plaintiff was severely burned and was taken to the emergency department of Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan where she was rushed to a trauma bay.”

The hospital determined that her injuries were too severe to treat there, however, and Allen was transferred to the Burn Center at Detroit Receiving Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, the lawsuit indicates.

As a result of the Maxi-Matic pressure cooker explosion, Allen suffered second- and third-degree burns, resulting in permanent scars and disfigurement, requiring multiple follow-up treatments at an outpatient burn center.

As a result, Allen presents claims of negligence, negligent failure to warn, negligent design and manufacturing defect, negligent misrepresentation and omission, breach of warranty, and violations of unfair trade practices and consumer protection law.

Recalls Over Pressure Cooker Explosion Risks

Problems with pressure cooker explosions have resulted in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issuing several major recalls in recent years, after design defects were identified with a number of different modern devices introduced over the past decade.

Last year, a Best Buy Insignia pressure cooker recall was announced affecting nearly one million devices, and a Sensio pressure cooker recall removed about 900,000 devices from store shelves. Both were caused by pressure cooker explosions linked to failures of the lid safety designs.

As a result of design with pressure cookers sold by various manufacturers, including Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot, Crock Pot and others, and their reticence to use safer, proven technologies, financial compensation may be available to those who have suffered injuries due to pressure cooker explosions.

Pressure cooker injury lawyers provide free consultations to help determine whether individuals nationwide are eligible to pursue a lawsuit.