Thermos Recall Injury Lawsuit: Stainless King Food Jar Stoppers and Eye Injuries

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall (number 26-444) on April 30, 2026. It covers two product lines from Thermos L.L.C. of Schaumburg, Illinois.

Thermos Stainless King food jars (SK3000 and SK3020)

The 16-ounce (SK3000) and 24-ounce (SK3020) Stainless King Food Jars manufactured before July 2023 are recalled, about 5.8 million units. The model number is printed on the bottom of the jar. The recalled stoppers do not have a pressure relief in the center.

Thermos Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottles (SK3010)

All 40-ounce Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottles, model SK3010, are recalled, about 2.3 million units.

Both were sold in many colors at Target, Walmart, and other stores, and online at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com, and Thermos.com, from around March 2008 through July 2024 for about $30.

Why the stoppers eject

CPSC says that if perishable food or drinks are stored in the container for an extended time, the stopper can forcefully eject when opened. Food that spoils or ferments gives off gas, and without a pressure relief the gas builds up behind the stopper. Thermos had 27 reports of people struck by an ejected stopper, including impact and laceration injuries that needed medical attention, and three people suffered permanent vision loss after being hit in the eye.

The lawsuits build on these facts. They claim Thermos marketed the containers for carrying hot and cold food without warning that pressure could build to a dangerous level, and that the company knew of the problem before the recall.

Start with the bottom of the container. The model number is printed there. Only three model numbers are in the recall:

A quick visual check also helps: the recalled stoppers have no pressure relief in the center. Thermos products with other model numbers are not listed in this recall.

To get the remedy, contact Thermos, not the store. Thermos takes requests at support.thermos.com, through the "Recall Info" link on thermos.com, or by phone at 662-563-6822 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.

• Food jars (SK3000, SK3020): Thermos asks you to throw away the old stopper and send a photo showing it was disposed of. It then sends a new stopper with pressure relief.
• Sportsman bottles (SK3010): Thermos sends a prepaid shipping label so you can return the bottle, and you receive a replacement bottle.

Until the new stopper arrives, CPSC says to stop using the recalled containers immediately.

If someone in your home was injured, do not throw away the stopper or mail back the bottle yet. Photograph it, keep it, and get advice first; the recall remedy asks you to give up the very evidence an injury claim depends on.

The Meaney class action

Meaney, et al. v. Thermos, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-05163, was filed on May 4, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where it is assigned to Judge Joan H. Lefkow. The plaintiffs seek to represent everyone who bought the recalled containers in the U.S. for personal or household use, with subclasses in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio, under state consumer fraud laws including the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

The complaint says Thermos was on notice in 2024, when a customer complained that a 16-ounce Stainless King container "explosively" decompressed and the lid flew 8 to 10 feet. It also argues the recall remedy is not enough because it offers a replacement part rather than a cash refund. As of September 2026, no class has been certified and no settlement has been announced. Thermos has not been found liable, and the claims are allegations.

Individual injury claims

The class action seeks money back for buyers; it does not compensate injuries. People who were hurt bring their own claims, and several law firms have said they are reviewing eye injury cases. Joining a class action as a buyer would not stop you from pursuing a separate injury claim, but a class settlement release could affect some claims, so read any notice carefully. See class action vs. individual lawsuit.

The strongest claims involve a documented eye injury: a corneal abrasion or laceration, bleeding inside the eye, a detached retina, or lasting vision loss. Three of the 27 incidents Thermos reported to CPSC involved permanent vision loss, which shows how serious these injuries can be.

You probably do not have an injury claim if the stopper popped but missed you, or if your container is not one of the three recalled model numbers. Stainless King food jars manufactured in or after July 2023 are not part of the recall.

If you are unsure whether your jar is covered, turn it over and read the model number on the bottom before contacting Thermos.

When the injured person is a child

Insulated food jars are often packed in school lunches, so some of the people most likely to open one are children. If a child was hurt, the claim usually belongs to the child and is brought by a parent or guardian, and parents may have their own claim for the medical bills they paid. Many states pause the filing deadline for a minor's own claim until age 18, but the parents' claim for costs may run on the normal schedule. Courts in many states must approve any settlement of a child's injury claim, and the money is often held in a protected account until the child becomes an adult. Keep school nurse notes, pediatric and eye doctor records, and any photos from the day it happened.

For owners, the recall remedy is the current payout: a free replacement pressure-relief stopper for SK3000 and SK3020 food jars, or a free replacement bottle for the SK3010 Sportsman. Thermos is not offering cash refunds through the recall.

If the Meaney class action succeeds or settles, buyers could receive money, but consumer product class settlements typically pay a modest amount per item, often a fraction of the purchase price, and more with proof of purchase. With a product that sold for about $30, any per-person payment is likely to be small. See whether you need proof of purchase.

Injury claims are valued very differently. Damages can include eye surgery and specialist care, future treatment, lost wages, and pain and suffering, and permanent vision loss is a serious, lifelong injury. Economic losses from an injury, such as missed work or a parent's time off to care for an injured child, can also be part of a claim. No Thermos injury case has produced a public verdict or settlement as of September 2026, so there is no Thermos-specific benchmark, and nothing here predicts what any claim is worth.

Injury claims are brought under state product liability law:

• Strict liability for a design defect: a stopper with no pressure relief is unreasonably dangerous when the container is used to carry food, as it was marketed.
• Failure to warn: the product did not adequately warn that stored food could build pressure and turn the stopper into a projectile.
• Negligence: the company did not act reasonably on earlier complaints.

The class action relies on state consumer protection statutes that bar deceptive practices and omissions, plus warranty claims. Thermos is expected to argue that users stored food too long and that the recall remedy fixes the problem. For a plain-English overview of how a recall differs from a class action, see our guide.

There is no claim deadline in the class action yet, because nothing has been certified or settled. If that happens, the court will approve a notice with dates, and claims will be filed only on an official settlement website.

For injuries, the statute of limitations is set by your state. Most states give injured people two or three years from the date of injury to file, and some give only one year. Illinois, where Thermos is based, generally allows two years for personal injury. Because the recalled jars were sold for more than 15 years, some states' statutes of repose, which can bar claims based on how long ago a product was sold, may also matter for older containers.

1. See an eye doctor promptly for any eye strike, even if vision seems fine. Some retinal injuries show up later.
2. Keep the container and stopper. The recall asks owners to throw away the stopper and send a photo, or mail back Sportsman bottles. If you were injured, hold off until you have advice, and photograph everything.
3. Write down what was inside, how long it had been stored, and what happened when you opened it.
4. Save proof of purchase from Amazon, Target, Walmart, or Thermos order histories.
5. Do not sign a release or accept a payment from Thermos or an insurer before you understand your injury.
6. Report the incident to CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.

If you or your child was hurt by a Thermos stopper, independent attorneys who handle product injury cases can review what happened. A free case review takes about two minutes. For other kitchen product injuries, see our pressure cooker burn lawsuit page and our food recall injury page.