A pressure cooker lid is supposed to lock until the steam is gone. When a Ninja Foodi, Crock-Pot Express, or Instant Pot lid opens under pressure, scalding food sprays your face and arms. That is a product defect, and you can sue for it.
Call 904-383-7448Reviewed by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Florida Bar No. 39104, Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm. Last updated .
If an electric pressure cooker lid blew off and scalded you, you likely have a Florida product-liability claim against the manufacturer, and you generally have four years to file under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. Multicookers like the Ninja Foodi OP300 series, the Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock, and the Bella, Bella Pro Series, and Crux line were recalled because their lids could open while the pot was still pressurized, spraying scalding contents onto the user. The Ninja Foodi recall, CPSC number 25-247 announced May 1, 2025, covered about 1.85 million units after 106 burn reports, more than 50 of them second or third-degree burns to the face or body. Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm, handles these scald cases for clients in Florida and Southeast Georgia. Save the cooker, the lid, the box, and your receipt. Photograph the burns before they heal. Florida also has a 12-year statute of repose under section 95.031(2)(b), so an older cooker can run out of time on a separate clock. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Here is the short version. A locking lid that opens while the pot is pressurized is a defect. When that lid releases, it throws boiling soup, chili, or rice across your face, chest, and arms. Second and third-degree scald burns leave scars. Florida law lets you hold the manufacturer responsible.
You generally have four years to file a product-liability injury claim under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. If a family member died from a scald or a related complication, the wrongful-death deadline is two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. These are different clocks. Do not assume the longer one applies to you.
Graham W. Syfert, Esq., is Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm. He represents burn clients in Jacksonville, across Northeast and North Central Florida, and in Southeast Georgia. National advertisers run these cases too. The difference here is local service, in-state court access, and a lawyer who answers the phone.
An electric pressure cooker builds steam to cook food fast. Inside, pressure can reach levels that turn a pot of liquid into a pressurized vessel. A safety interlock is supposed to keep the lid locked shut until that pressure is released. That interlock is the entire safety promise of the product.
When the interlock fails, the user turns the lid expecting it to be locked. It is not. The lid lifts, releases, or detaches, and the pressurized contents erupt upward and outward. Boiling liquid hits the face, neck, chest, hands, and forearms. The burns are scald burns, and they are often deep.
The core defect across these recalls is the same. The lid can be rotated and opened while the pot still holds pressure. On the Ninja Foodi OP300 series, the Consumer Product Safety Commission stated the pressure-cooking lid can be opened during use, causing hot contents to escape.
On the Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock, the CPSC found the unit can pressurize when the lid is not fully locked, and the lid can then suddenly detach during use. A user who believes the lid is secured is the person who gets hurt.
Some designs make it nearly impossible to tell whether the pot is still pressurized. In its February 2026 warning on Gourmia six-quart pressure cookers, the CPSC explained that the float valve, which is supposed to show pressure status, sits inside the handle and is difficult to see.
A user cannot see that the valve is still raised, so the user reasonably believes it is safe to open the lid. The CPSC also noted incorrect volume markings on the inner pot. A safety indicator the user cannot read is not a safety indicator.
The specific brand and model matter. They drive the claim, the defendant, and the deadline. Below are the cookers with verified Consumer Product Safety Commission action or documented litigation over lid blow-off. If your cooker is not listed, that does not mean you lack a claim. It means we investigate the specific unit.
On May 1, 2025, SharkNinja recalled about 1,846,400 Ninja Foodi OP300 Series Multi-Function Pressure Cookers in the United States, plus roughly 184,000 in Canada, under CPSC recall number 25-247. The recalled models include OP300, OP301, OP301A, OP302, OP302BRN, OP302HCN, OP302HAQ, OP302HW, OP302HB, OP305, OP305CO, and OP350CO, printed on a label on the back of the unit, near the power cord.
The CPSC reported that the pressure-cooking lid can be opened during use, causing hot contents to escape. SharkNinja had received 106 reports of burn injuries, including more than 50 reports of second or third-degree burns to the face or body, with 26 lawsuits filed. The remedy was a free replacement lid. The units sold from January 2019 through March 2025 at Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon, and Target.
In November 2020, Sunbeam Products recalled about 914,430 Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers in the United States, plus 28,330 in Canada. The recalled units are model number SCCPPC600-V1, manufactured between July 1, 2017, and October 1, 2018.
The CPSC stated the cooker can pressurize when the lid is not fully locked, which can cause the lid to suddenly detach during use. Sunbeam had received 119 reports of lid detachment that resulted in 99 burn injuries ranging from first to third-degree. The remedy was a free replacement lid. The cookers sold for about $70 to $100 at Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
On August 10, 2023, Sensio recalled about 860,000 Bella, Bella Pro Series, Cooks, and Crux electric pressure cookers, plus Bella stovetop pressure cookers, due to a burn hazard. The CPSC stated the lid can unlock and be removed during use, causing the hot contents to splash out.
Sensio had received 63 reports of incidents, including 61 burn injuries, some involving second and third-degree burns to the face, torso, arms, and hands. The remedy was a refund. These units sold from September 2015 through September 2020 at JCPenney, Kohl's, Lowe's, Macy's, Target, and Amazon.
In February 2026, the CPSC warned consumers to immediately stop using Gourmia six-quart pressure cookers, model GPC625, after the lid was found to open while the pot is still pressurized and spray hot contents. The CPSC reported five incidents, four of them severe burn injuries, with at least two lawsuits filed. About 43,500 units sold for $50 to $80 between 2017 and 2020, mostly at Best Buy.
In 2026, Tempo USA recalled Ambiano electric pressure cookers, sold at ALDI, after the CPSC found the lid can be opened before sufficient steam pressure has been released, causing hot contents to escape. The same failure mode keeps appearing across different brand names.
The Tristar Power Pressure Cooker XL has not been the subject of a CPSC recall, but it has been the subject of litigation. Plaintiffs alleged the lid could open while the pot was under pressure, contrary to the manual's warranty that the lid should not be removable while pressurized. A class settlement resolved actions filed by Edwina Pinon in California and Kenneth Chapman and others in Ohio.
Instant Pot units have drawn individual lawsuits alleging the locked lid flew open while the pot was pressurized, causing burns and scarring. Instant Brands, the parent of Instant Pot, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2023, which affects how and against whom a claim must proceed. A bankruptcy does not automatically end a claim, but it changes the path, so the specific company and timeline matter.
Florida recognizes strict products liability. The Florida Supreme Court adopted it in West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 336 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1976), following the Restatement (Second) of Torts section 402A. Under strict liability, you do not have to prove the manufacturer was careless. You prove the product was defective when it left the manufacturer and that the defect caused your injury.
A pressure cooker scald case typically rests on three theories. The first is a design defect, that the interlock allowed the lid to open under pressure. The second is a failure to warn, that the labeling and indicators did not adequately tell the user when it was unsafe to open the lid. The third is negligence, that the manufacturer knew or should have known of the failure mode and sold the cooker anyway.
The recalls themselves matter as proof. When a company has received dozens or hundreds of burn reports and then recalls the product, that history speaks to notice. The manufacturer who keeps selling a cooker after the burn reports pile up is the antagonist in this story.
Florida law sets hard deadlines, and they were renumbered after House Bill 837 took effect on March 24, 2023, and again by a 2024 amendment. Using the wrong subsection is a common mistake. Here is the current, correct numbering.
A product-liability personal-injury claim must be filed within four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. A general negligence claim carries a two-year deadline under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes. A wrongful-death claim carries a two-year deadline under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. Subsection (4) is now a three-year medical-debt provision and has nothing to do with these claims.
There is a second clock. Section 95.031(2)(b), Florida Statutes, sets a 12-year statute of repose that runs from delivery of the product to its first purchaser. On an older cooker, that 12-year window can bar a claim outright even if your four years have not run. If your cooker is several years old, the repose clock is the first thing to check.
Florida follows modified comparative fault under section 768.81, Florida Statutes, after House Bill 837. A person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages. Below that threshold, recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault. Manufacturers will argue you opened the lid wrong. The defect defense answers that the lid should never have been openable under pressure in the first place.
Georgia law also serves clients near the state line. Georgia recognizes strict product liability under OCGA section 51-1-11, with a 10-year statute of repose running from the first sale of the unit. The personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under OCGA section 9-3-33. The Georgia deadlines are shorter than Florida's four-year products clock, so a Georgia purchase needs faster attention.
The cooker is the case. A scald claim lives or dies on whether the actual unit can be examined. Do not return the cooker for a refund or replacement lid until you have spoken with a lawyer. Accepting the recall remedy can mean surrendering the single most important piece of evidence.
Keep the cooker, the lid, the gasket, the inner pot, the box, the manual, and any paperwork. Photograph the model and serial labels on the unit, wherever the manufacturer placed them, on a Ninja Foodi the label sits on the back near the power cord, and on a Crock-Pot Express it sits on the bottom. Save your purchase record, whether a receipt, a card statement, or an Amazon or Walmart order history. Photograph your burns in good light as they progress, because juries understand healed scars only when they see how the wound began.
Get medical care and keep every record. Emergency department notes, burn-center records, debridement and skin-graft reports, and photographs document both the injury and its cause. The medical record that says scald from pressure cooker lid is worth more than memory.
The manufacturer is the primary defendant. That is SharkNinja for the Ninja Foodi, Sunbeam Products for the Crock-Pot Express, Sensio for the Bella and Crux lines, Tristar Products for the Power Pressure Cooker XL, and Instant Brands or its successor for Instant Pot. The correct corporate name and its current status drive how the claim is filed.
Sellers and distributors can also bear responsibility. Recent lawsuits have named Amazon as a seller of defective pressure cookers, arguing it placed the product in the stream of commerce. Big-box retailers that sold the recalled units are part of the analysis too.
A bankruptcy in the chain, like Instant Brands' Chapter 11, does not automatically defeat a claim, but it reroutes it. Identifying every responsible entity early is how you avoid suing a shell and missing the company that can actually answer for the harm.
I tell every burn client the same thing first. Do not mail the cooker back. The recall card offers you a replacement lid or a refund, and the moment you accept it, the defective lid is gone. The manufacturer is happy to trade you a $20 part for your evidence. Keep the unit in a box on a shelf and call a lawyer.
Match your facts to the right clock. A products claim gets four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes, but a death in the family gets only two under section 95.11(5)(e). If a cooker is old, I check the 12-year repose under section 95.031(2)(b) before anything else, because that clock can already have run.
I am Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm, and I work these cases in Florida and Southeast Georgia. National firms advertise pressure cooker burns coast to coast. What I offer is a local lawyer, in your courts, who will look at your specific OP302 or SCCPPC600-V1 and tell you honestly whether you have a case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If a pressure cooker lid opened under pressure and scalded you, the first hours and days protect both your health and your claim. Take these steps.
Possibly. SharkNinja recalled the Ninja Foodi OP300 series on May 1, 2025, under CPSC number 25-247 because the pressure-cooking lid can open during use and spray hot contents. The CPSC reported 106 burn injuries, more than 50 of them second or third-degree to the face or body. A Florida products claim generally has a four-year deadline under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. Keep the cooker and call a lawyer before returning it. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
The CPSC recall 25-247 covers the Ninja Foodi OP300 series, specifically models OP300, OP301, OP301A, OP302, OP302BRN, OP302HCN, OP302HAQ, OP302HW, OP302HB, OP305, OP305CO, and OP350CO. The model number is printed on a label on the back of the unit, near the power cord. The recall covered about 1.85 million units in the United States sold from January 2019 through March 2025.
Yes. In November 2020, Sunbeam Products recalled about 914,430 Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers, model SCCPPC600-V1, manufactured between July 1, 2017, and October 1, 2018. The CPSC stated the unit can pressurize when the lid is not fully locked, then the lid can suddenly detach. Sunbeam received 119 lid-detachment reports and 99 burn injuries from first to third-degree.
A product-liability personal-injury claim generally must be filed within four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. If someone died, the wrongful-death deadline is two years under section 95.11(5)(e). Florida also has a 12-year statute of repose under section 95.031(2)(b) that runs from delivery to the first purchaser, which can bar a claim on an older cooker. Deadlines are strict, so get advice early.
Not before you talk to a lawyer. The recalled cooker is the central evidence in a burn case. If you accept the replacement lid or refund, you may surrender the defective unit and weaken your claim. Keep the cooker, the lid, the gasket, the box, the manual, and your receipt, and photograph the model label. The replacement offer can wait until your claim is protected.
Yes. On August 10, 2023, Sensio recalled about 860,000 Bella, Bella Pro Series, Cooks, and Crux electric pressure cookers, plus Bella stovetop models, because the lid can unlock and be removed during use, causing hot contents to splash out. Sensio received 63 reports and 61 burn injuries, some second and third-degree to the face, torso, arms, and hands. The remedy was a refund.
Possibly. Recent lawsuits have named Amazon as a seller of defective pressure cookers, arguing it placed the product into the stream of commerce when the locked lid flew open under pressure and caused burns. The correct defendants depend on who manufactured, distributed, and sold your specific unit. Identifying every responsible entity early is part of building the claim.
A recall is helpful evidence, but it is not required to bring a claim. The Tristar Power Pressure Cooker XL was not recalled by the CPSC, yet it has been the subject of litigation alleging the lid could open under pressure. Under West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 336 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1976), you can pursue strict products liability by proving the cooker was defective and caused your injury, recall or not.
Georgia recognizes strict product liability under OCGA section 51-1-11, with a 10-year statute of repose from the first sale of the unit. The personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under OCGA section 9-3-33. The Georgia deadlines are shorter than Florida's four-year products clock, so a Georgia purchase needs prompt attention.
An initial review of your scald injury costs nothing. Graham W. Syfert, Esq., is Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm and handles these cases in Florida and Southeast Georgia. Bring photos of your burns, the cooker model label, and your purchase record. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Free consultation. The phone rings to Graham, not a call center.
Call: 904-383-7448