Consumers complain their Cuisinart digital pressure cooker explodes due to defects in their lock that holds the lid shut.

Electric pressure cookers have replaced the old-fashioned type that sat on a stove top and used a noisy valve to regulate pressure. They went the way of the dinosaur when microwaves hit the market.

Popular professional chefs began singing the praises of electric, digitally programmable pressure cookers in recent years, which has brought items such as the Cuisinart digital pressure cooker back in vogue.

Consumers have reported several of these new pressure cookers are allegedly defective. Whether it’s due to their design, construction or materials, the possibility of scalding hot food and liquid bursting forth and burning anyone nearby is not a potential problem anyone wants to deal with in their kitchen.

Allegations of Cuisinart Digital Pressure Cooker Defects

At least one Cuisinart lawsuit alleges a Cuisinart digital pressure cooker beeped when the contents were cooked, then exploded when the owner began to open the lid. She believed it was safe to open the pressure cooker at that time, but the appliance allegedly retained a dangerous amount of pressure that exploded once the lid barely allowed any pressure to escape. She says she was burned by hot food that went all over her and all over the floor, ceiling, countertops and cabinets.

The defect allegedly has been blamed on the two locking features of the Cuisinart digital pressure cooker. A float valve is the first locking feature, which is supposed to extend upwards through a hole in the strike plate and lid as the pressure begins to build within the unit. The strike plate is a bent piece of metal that sits in the lid of the cooker. The other locking feature is the set of locking lugs located on the base of the cooker that use friction caused by the internal pressure to force the base and lid together.

A locking pin at the top of the unit is intended to prevent the lid from rotating to an open position once the float valve has extended. The locking pin is made of plastic, which some owners say can break when the lid is rotated using regularly anticipated force. Consumers allege the locking pin fails to prevent the Cuisinart digital pressure cooker’s lid from staying closed under the unit’s pressure. In addition, the strike plate purportedly is insufficient at blocking the lid from opening.

These alleged defects allow the lid locking features to be bypassed, enabling the owner to rotate and loosen the lid while unaware that the appliance still contains a dangerous amount of pressure.

Other owner complaints include allegations that the Cuisinart digital pressure cooker leaks steam from the float valve and won’t seal after two or three uses; the unit automatically turns to the “keep warm” setting without ever pressure cooking the food; the timer doesn’t work properly, which allows the cooker to shut down before it even begins cooking.

Join a Free Pressure Cooker Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you experienced a pressure cooker explosion and were injured and/or suffered other damages, you may have a legal claim. Filing a personal injury pressure cooker lawsuit or joining a pressure cooker class action lawsuit could help you recover expenses related to medical bills, property damage, pain and suffering, and more.

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