Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Claims Lid Exploded Off, Causing Severe Burn Injuries

After suffering severe and disfiguring burns when the lid of her Ninja Foodie pressure cooker blew off unexpectedly, a Florida woman has filed a product liability lawsuit against the makers of the Ninja Foodi, alleging that it is unreasonably dangerous and defective for the intended use by consumers.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Sydney Colvin in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on April 2, pursuing damages from Sharkninja Operating, LLC as the defendant.

Modern electronic pressure cookers like the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker have become popular in recent decades, amid marketing that has promoted advanced features that were supposed to prevent pressure cooker explosions that have plagued older, stove-top designs. However a growing number of consumers are now pursuing pressure cooker lawsuits against the manufacturers, indicating that these safety features are prone to fail, allowing the lid to be removed while intense pressure is still built up inside the pot.

Colvin indicates that she did not actually attempt to take the lid off of her Foodi Deluxe TenderCrisp Pressure Cooker, but the lid “suddenly and unexpectedly” exploded off while she was using the pressure cooker in December 2022.

“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 pressure cooker, manufactured by SharkNinja, was defectively and negligently designed and failed to function properly. These defects make the pressure cookers unreasonably dangerous for their intended use by consumers, according to the complaint.

Colvin presents claims of strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, and failure to warn. She is seeking compensatory damages.

Pressure Cooker Recalls

As more of these electric pressure cookers have been introduced in recent years, the CPSC has issued several recalls over problems with pressure cooker explosions, 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.

Last year, a Best Buy Insignia pressure cooker recall was announced for nearly 1 million devices, and a Sensio pressure cooker recall pulled about 900,000 devices off store shelves. Both were linked to pressure cooker explosions linked to failures of the lid safety designs.

Given design problems linked to sold by various manufacturers, including Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot, Crock Pot and others, 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.