For the past several decades, many kitchen and household gadgets have been invented and put on the market. While some of these products could be described as “faddish” at best, other have become common pathways to daily convenience and household staples many people feel they couldn’t live without. From slow cookers to fat-defying grills, technological advances have allowed consumers to cook food the way they like it in ways that suit their busy lifestyles. The Instant Pot has joined the ranks of these products as a consumer favorite—that is, until some users noticed their cookers melting while in use.
Pressure cookers can be dangerous even when not defective
Although modern pressure cookers typically contain multiple failsafes to prevent the explosions that were rumored to be common among early pressure cooking devices, there are still risks that come stock with using high pressure and above-boiling-temperature heat to cook food for your family. If pressure release valves or pressure weight measurement devices fail, you could wind up with a perfect recipe for not only serious property damage in your kitchen, but also serious burn injuries inflicted on the residents of your home.
While some product defects are a mere nuisance, others can lead to serious harm
Many people have shaken their fist in frustration while, for example, constructing a piece of flat-pack furniture only to find the one screw they needed to complete the job was bent. In such instances, a defective product—in this case, a bent screw—is an irritating annoyance and poses an inconvenience until a suitable replacement part can be used. However, with products like the Instant Pot that use heat, electricity and high-pressure steam to operate, a defective product can cause burn injuries, electric shock, and even a fire.
The Instant Pot products recalled posed a serious health and safety risk
While some Instant Pot owners found that their product’s malfunction yielded a scorched, ruined countertop and nothing more, the potential for serious fire danger is very real when an electricity-powered object begins to overheat. If the plastic housing of the Instant Pot melted onto a kitchen towel, for example, a fire could easily break out and spread, causing major property damages and possible injuries to household residents. Consumers trust that when they buy products, those products will be thoroughly inspected for manufacturing defects before being made available to the public. Sadly, though, this is not always the case. Defective products make it onto store shelves and consumers suffer as a result.
Has your Instant Pot caused injury or household damage?
If you were one of the many consumer affected by the defective model of Instant Pot and the overheating pressure cooker caused damage to your home—or worse, bodily harm—consider talking to an Anaheim product liability attorney with the Compass Law Group, LLP These legal professionals specialize in product liability and offer free consultations. You may be entitled to monetary compensation for property damages or pain and suffering caused by a defective Instant Pot, so call don’t wait another minute.
