Pressure Cooker Lawsuit Filed by Severely Burned Couple

March 21, 2024 — A lawsuit has been filed against Sunbeam Products by a couple who were burned by a CrockPot Pressure Cooker.

The plaintiffs, Elizabeth and Philip B., are a couple from Washington who claim that they were injured by a defective Sunbeam CrockPot® 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cooker (Model Number K215JN).

According to the lawsuit, they were using the pressure cooking feature on their CrockPot Multi-Cooker to make food. “The lid opened while the contents were under pressure. The scalding hot contents forcefully erupted,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit includes graphic photos of their burn injuries. She suffered extensive burns on her hand and upper body, neck, face, and shoulders. Her husband was severely burned on his arm.

The lawsuit accuses Sunbeam Products of selling pressure cookers with defective lids that do not lock until all of the pressure has been released.

The lawsuit claims that the CrockPot Express Crock Multi-Cooker was advertised to include numerous safety features, with statements such as: “Once the pressure increases, the Lid cannot be opened,” and “At the end of cooking, the Lid cannot be unlicked until all the pressure is released.”

Instead, the plaintiffs claim that the pressure cooker is defective and unreasonably dangerous for its intended use because the lid can unlock when the pressure cooker is being used.

The lawsuit was filed on March 14, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (Tacoma) — Case Number 3:24-cv-05208.