A woman from Texas who was severely burned by a Tristar Power Pressure Cooker XL has filed a lawsuit (PDF) against the manufacturer.
The woman, Brenicka L., of Orange, Texas, received the pressure cooker as a gift from her husband who bought it after seeing advertisements on TV.
The pressure cooker was advertised as having “Built-In Safety Features,” including a lid safety lock, to prevent the lid from being opened until all of the pressure had been safely released.
Unfortunately, Brenicka was severely burned in January 2016 because she was able to open the lid before it was de-pressurized.
At approximately 11:00, she started making sausage and beans for dinner. She filled the inner pot about half-way with ingredients, including 3 cups of water and 1-pound of beans, and selected the “BEAN” setting. It automatically set a timer for 45 minutes.
When she heard a “beep,” Brenicka released the valve to release the steam and de-pressurize the cooker. When there was no more steam coming out of the vent, she began twisting the lid to open the cooker.
That was when it suddenly exploded all over her body:
“Suddenly, the lid popped off the top of the Pressure Cooker. Part of the Pressure Cooker’s scalding hot contents shot out and landed all over the kitchen, including on Plaintiff’s chest, breasts, neck and arms.”
Brenicka suffered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree scald burns on her chest, breasts, arms, and neck.
She filed a lawsuit in November 2017, blaming her burn injuries on the failure of the Power Pressure Cooker’s safety features. At least 20 injury lawsuits have been filed nationwide by people who were burned.
All of the victims were burned by explosions that occurred as a result of being able to open the lid when there was still a dangerous amount of pressure inside the Tristar Power Pressure Cooker XL.
The lawsuits allege that Tristar was aware of the problem, but failed to recall or redesign the Power Pressure Cooker to prevent explosions.
The lawsuit was filed on November 7, 2017 in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas) Civil Trial Division — Case ID: 171100481.
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