Pressure Cooker Burn Lawsuits: Ninja Foodi, Crock-Pot, Insignia, and Other Explosion Claims

Electric pressure cookers are supposed to lock the lid until pressure drops. The lawsuits say certain models let the lid rotate or open while pressure remained, or that valves and pots failed, so boiling food and steam blasted out onto the user's face, chest, arms, and hands. The claims usually allege a design defect, missing or inadequate warnings, and marketing that promised safety features would prevent exactly this.

Ninja Foodi OP300 series (SharkNinja)

On May 1, 2025, SharkNinja recalled about 1,846,400 Ninja Foodi OP300 Series Multi-Function Pressure Cookers in the U.S. (plus about 184,240 in Canada). The recall covers models OP300, OP301, OP301A, OP302 variants, OP305, OP305CO, and OP350CO, sold from January 2019 through March 2025 for about $200 at Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon, and Target. SharkNinja had 106 reports of burn injuries, more than 50 of them second- or third-degree burns, and 26 lawsuits filed at the time of the recall. The remedy is a free replacement lid; owners can keep using the air fryer and other functions.

Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cooker (Sunbeam)

On November 24, 2020, Sunbeam Products recalled about 914,430 Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers sold from July 2017 through November 2020 for $70 to $100. Sunbeam had 119 reports of lid detachment and 99 burn injuries ranging from first- to third-degree. The remedy is a free replacement lid.

Best Buy Insignia pressure cookers

On October 26, 2023, Best Buy recalled about 930,000 Insignia Multi-Function Pressure Cookers (models NS-MC60SS8, NS-MC60SS9, NS-MC80SS9) and replacement inner pots, sold from October 2017 through June 2023. Best Buy had 31 reports of contents expelled under pressure, including 17 burn injuries. The remedy is a free replacement inner pot and float valve.

Bella, Crux, and Cooks (Sensio)

On August 10, 2023, Sensio recalled about 860,000 Bella, Bella Pro Series, Crux, and Cooks electric pressure cookers and Bella stovetop cookers sold from September 2015 through September 2020 at stores including Target, Kohl's, Macy's, JCPenney, and Lowe's. Sensio had 61 burn injury reports. The remedy is a refund.

Ambiano electric pressure cookers (ALDI)

On October 9, 2025, Tempo USA recalled about 46,660 Ambiano electric pressure cookers (models 93550, 96775, and 98527) sold at ALDI from January 2016 through December 2019 for about $40, after 11 incidents including eight severe burns. The remedy is a refund.

Find the model number first. On most electric cookers it is printed on a permanent label on the side or bottom of the base, not on the lid. Then compare it to the recall notice.

For the Ninja Foodi, CPSC notes that an extra code after the model number, such as "OP301 I07", is not part of the model; that unit is an OP301. Replacement OP300 series lids bought separately are also recalled.

The Insignia recall notice adds safety steps that apply to most electric pressure cookers: do not fill the inner pot beyond two-thirds, make sure the lid is fully locked before starting, and wait for the floating locking valve to drop before opening. If a cooker opened after you followed those steps, that detail can matter a great deal in an injury claim.

If your cooker is on this list and you were not hurt, contact the company for the remedy. If you were hurt, keep the cooker and read the last section of this page first.

There is no multidistrict litigation for pressure cooker burns. Each injured person files a separate lawsuit, usually in federal court, against the manufacturer and sometimes the retailer. That means timelines and results vary widely.

The Crock-Pot Express verdict

Perez v. Sunbeam Products, Inc., No. 1:21-cv-01915 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, is the best known result. Georgina Perez was burned over about 13% of her body when her Crock-Pot Express Multi-Cooker erupted, and needed skin grafts. In December 2024, a jury awarded her $55.5 million, most of it punitive damages; the award was later cut to about $9 million under Colorado's caps. On March 31, 2026, Judge Philip A. Brimmer denied Sunbeam and Newell Brands' motion for a new trial and upheld the reduced verdict.

The Ninja Foodi class action

Economic class actions, which seek refunds rather than injury compensation, have not done well. Biscovich v. SharkNinja Operating, LLC, No. 5:25-cv-03993, was filed in the Northern District of California in May 2025 after the Foodi recall. Judge Eumi K. Lee granted SharkNinja's motion to dismiss on February 26, 2026, and the case was closed. Courts are often skeptical of class claims for people who were not hurt when a recall already offers a free fix.

Injury suits against SharkNinja, Instant Brands, and other makers continue to be filed individually. All claims in pending cases are allegations until a court or jury decides them.

You may have a claim if all of these are true:

• You or a family member used an electric or stovetop pressure cooker as directed.
• The lid opened, detached, or the contents erupted while the cooker still held pressure, or a valve or pot failed.
• Someone was burned badly enough to need medical care.

Burn cases with second- or third-degree burns, skin grafts, scarring, or burns to the face or a child tend to be the ones attorneys pursue. A recall helps show the company knew about the risk, but it is not required; a cooker that was never recalled can still be defective.

You probably do not have an injury case if nobody was burned, or if the injury came from touching a hot surface or spilling a pot after it was safely depressurized. Expect the company to argue misuse, such as overfilling or forcing the lid, so details about how you used it matter. If you were not hurt, use the recall remedy; see recall vs. class action for why. Other household recall injuries, such as dresser tip-overs, follow the same pattern.

Injury compensation in burn cases can include medical and burn unit bills, future surgeries and scar treatment, lost income, and pain and suffering. Some states also allow punitive damages when a company knowingly sold a dangerous product.

The Perez result shows two things. Juries can react strongly to burn evidence, and state damage caps can cut an award sharply. Many other burn cases settle confidentially, so public figures skew toward outliers. Nothing here predicts what any case is worth.

If you are not injured, recall remedies are the practical payout: a free replacement lid for the Ninja Foodi and Crock-Pot Express, a new inner pot and float valve for Insignia, and refunds for Sensio and Ambiano cookers.

These are state law product liability cases. The usual claims are:

• Strict liability for a design defect, for example a lid that can be turned open while the pot is still pressurized.
• Failure to warn, when instructions and labels did not adequately explain the risk.
• Negligence in design, testing, or responding to injury reports.
• Breach of warranty and consumer protection claims based on marketing of safety features.

Federal law adds a reporting duty. Under 15 U.S.C. section 2064(b), a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer that learns a product may contain a defect that could create a substantial product hazard must immediately inform the CPSC. Evidence about when a company learned of burn reports, and how long it waited to recall, often becomes central in punitive damages arguments.

The statute of limitations for injury claims is set by each state. Most allow two or three years from the date of the burn, some allow only one year, and a few allow longer. For children, many states pause the deadline until age 18, but not always for the parents' claim for medical costs.

Recall remedies do not have firm end dates, but using a recalled cooker's pressure function while waiting is exactly what the recalls warn against.

If the manufacturer is in bankruptcy, as Instant Brands was after filing for Chapter 11 on June 12, 2023, separate claim deadlines in the bankruptcy case may apply, so get advice early.

1. Get treatment and follow up at a burn clinic if needed. Photograph the burns every few days as they heal.
2. Keep the cooker, lid, and pot exactly as they are. Do not send them to the company or return them to the store, even for a recall remedy, until you have legal advice.
3. Write down what you cooked, how full the pot was, the setting, and exactly what happened when the lid opened.
4. Find the model number and date code and compare them to the recall list.
5. Do not give a recorded statement to the manufacturer or its insurer, and do not sign anything.
6. Report the incident to CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.

If you were burned by a pressure cooker, independent attorneys who handle burn and product cases can review what happened. A free case review takes about two minutes. For how individual suits differ from class actions, see class action vs. individual lawsuit. Our guide on how to sue a company covers the basic steps. For another kitchen product claim, see our Thermos recall injury page, which covers eye and impact injuries from stoppers on recalled food jars and bottles.