Sunbeam Class Action Says Crock-Pot Pressure Cookers Explode

Sunbeam Products Inc. d/b/a Jarden Consumer Solutions has been hit with a class action lawsuit by consumers who claim that their Crock-Pot Express Pressure Cookers explode their hot contents because of a design defect.

Plaintiff Kimberly Rife says that in January 2018, she obtained the Sunbeam Pressure Cookeras a gift and used it to prepare chicken and rice soup for her family.

She claims that she read the instructions and, despite following them, was severely injured by the item. 

Rife states that after the process of cooking was complete, she released pressure from the steam release valve and pressed the stop button when the steam stopped.

“When she easily twisted and opened the lid, the scalding hot contents exploded out of the pot, spraying her hand, wrist and stomach, and her surrounding kitchen area,” the Crock-Pot class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiff claims that she suffered first- and second-degree burns on her hand, wrist, and stomach. She says she still has scarring from the incident with the Crock-Pot.

The Crock-Pot class action lawsuit alleges that the Pressure Cooker generates extreme heat and steam during routine operation, but the defect occurs when the pressure build-up inside the product causes the hot contents to “burst and erupt” from the product when the lid is opened up by the consumer.

The plaintiff states that the Pressure Cooker at issue in this case includes “all Crock-Pot Express Pressure Cooker models sold by Sunbeam, including without limitation, Model Number SCCPPC600-V1.”

The Crock-Pot class action lawsuit states that the defendant should have known about the defect and did not warn consumers of the safety risk which was created by the defect, and further, did not recall the “dangerously defective” Pressure Cooker despite the risk of injury to consumers.

The Crock-Pot class action lawsuit also mentions similar experiences that consumers have had with the Pressure Cooker. For example, one customer reportedly said that his product’s top “blew off send[ing] scolding water everywhere and leaving [him] with second degree burns on [his] shoulder and neck.”

Other consumers have reported injuries and property damage after using the Pressure Cooker, the plaintiffs allege. Comments were even posted on the defendant’s website.

The plaintiffs claim that Sunbeam did not adequately design or manufacture the Pressure Cooker to make sure that it did not have a defect before they put the product up for sale. In addition, the class action lawsuit states that the defect is a “serious and immediate safety risk” to the public.

Also, the plaintiffs note that even though the defendant knew, or should have known, about the defect, the company chose to conceal that the defect existed and should have removed the item from the marketplace.

“As a result of Defendant’s concealment of the Defect, many Class members remain unaware of the existence of the Defect, and that it poses an unreasonable risk of personal injury and/or property damage during normal use,” the Crock-Pot class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs are represented by Brian W. Warwick and Janet R. Varnell of Varnell & Warwick, Michael R. Karnuth of the Law Offices of Michael R. Karnuth, and Antonio Vozzolo of Vozzolo Law LLC.

The Crock-Pot Pressure Cooker Design Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Kimberly Rife, et al. v. Sunbeam Products Inc., Case No. 9:20-cv-80021, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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