April 7, 2026 — A Colorado man is suing Amazon.com after an Instant Pot Duo pressure cooker lid allegedly opened while the unit was still under pressure, spraying scalding hot contents and causing serious burn injuries.
The lawsuit against Amazon.com alleges that the lid of the Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker can be opened when it is still pressurized, which poses a serious burn hazard to consumers.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado by a man from Commerce City, Colorado who alleges he was burned on April 7, 2024, while using the Instant Pot Duo 60 V3 model during normal, everyday cooking.
According to the complaint, he was able to be rotate and remove the lid while the unit was still under pressure. This allowed scalding-hot food and steam to be forcefully ejected from the cooker and onto the plaintiff. The lawsuit alleges the incident resulted in serious and substantial burn injuries, along with medical expenses, lost wages, physical pain, and mental anguish.
The Instant Pot Duo’s user manual markets the cooker as having a Float Valve safety mechanism that is supposed to lock the lid in place while the unit is pressurized, stating the lid “cannot be opened” until the valve drops and pressure is fully released.
The lawsuit alleges this safety mechanism failed during normal use, allowing the lid to be rotated open while dangerous pressure remained inside, directly contradicting the safety guarantee the product was sold on.
The complaint accuses Amazon of selling a defectively designed product and alleges the company knew or should have known about the risk. The lawsuit further alleges that safer alternative designs existed that could have prevented the lid from opening under these conditions, but were never implemented.
Instant Brands, Inc., the original manufacturer of the Instant Pot, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and is currently undergoing proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Because of the automatic stay imposed on Instant Brands, Amazon is the sole defendant in the Colorado case and is deemed the product’s manufacturer under Colorado law.
The Instant Pot became one of the best-selling kitchen appliances in the country over the past decade, with tens of millions of units sold through Amazon and major retailers nationwide.
The Duo series in particular was marketed heavily as a safe, convenient multi-cooker with built-in protections that prevent consumers from being exposed to pressurized steam and hot contents. Many consumers purchased the device specifically because of those safety claims.
Pressure cooker burn injuries can be devastating. When a pressurized cooker opens unexpectedly, the sudden release of hot steam and liquid can cause serious burns to exposed skin, particularly the hands, arms, face, and chest. These types of burns often require emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, and in severe cases, skin grafts or long-term wound care. Recovery can be long and painful.
Consumers who were burned by an Instant Pot are not alone. Reports of Instant Pot lid failures and pressure cooker burn injuries have surfaced across the country from consumers who, like the plaintiff in this case, were using the device exactly as intended. If you or a family member suffered burn injuries in a similar incident, a product liability attorney can advise on your legal options.
The lawsuit was filed on March 20, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado – Case Number 1:26-cv-011460RBJ.
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