Today, many people are becoming mindful of the food they consume. Many want to cook their food so that they know what’s going on inside their bodies. And that makes them buy appliances that are known for healthy cooking–one of them being the electric pressure cooker. While that is a good shift, the increasing number of explosions has raised concerns about the appliance’s safety.
To date, innumerable lawsuits have been filed against various pressure cooker manufacturers for defective parts. In November 2021, a woman from California filed a lawsuit against Instant Pot, where she reported suffering from severe burns because the appliance exploded. Her complaint stated that she couldn’t open the lid when the unit was under pressure. Irrespective of the safety features that were intended to keep users safe, she faced a fatal explosion.
Such dangerous explosions can give rise to injuries like burns, scars, eye injuries, and even blindness that need costly treatment. Hence, the users must know about the common causes of explosions and measures to prevent them as much as possible. In this article, we will discuss both.
Causes of Pressure Cooker Explosions
You would never want to face a life-threatening accident in your kitchen because of a defective appliance. A pressure cooker explosion occurs for multiple reasons. The prominent ones are:
- Faulty Lid Seals: Typically, the pressure cooker lids are designed to stay airtight to keep the pressure and steam within the pot, until it attains optimal cooking conditions. If the silicone or rubber seal isn’t designed well, it can break and result in an explosion.
- Defective Automatic Shutoff Valve: Most electric pressure cookers have an in-built shutoff feature for security. Therefore, when this feature fails to function correctly, an explosion can happen.
- Faulty Lid Lock: When the pressure cooker lock doesn’t work well, the user might need to open the device before venting. And this can expel the hot food, which can cause severe burns and badly bruise your skin.
- Defective Gasket: A gasket can seal the cooker and enable pressure to develop inside the device. However, when pressure cookers have faulty gaskets, it can lead to explosions that can cause painful burns and other bruises.
- Depressurization: Venting enables hot steam to be released at a slow speed from the cooker. Once this mechanism is broken, the pot can explode and harm people near it.
These are a few of the causes of pressure cooker accidents that you should be aware of. It will enable you to file a lawsuit and seek the compensation you deserve.
TorHoerman Law states that you should check with a lawyer to know whether you are eligible for a legal claim. Share all relevant details of the explosion, such as medical records, photographs of your injury, the faulty cooker, and its defective parts with your lawyer. It will help them build a strong case and ensure you receive the settlement payout quickly.
Preventive Measures That Help
You must follow a few preventive tips to make sure that the cooker doesn’t explode. The three crucial safety guidelines are:
- Check the appliance before cooking: Before switching on the electric pressure cooker, you need to check it. Inspect the rubber gasket before turning it on. You should ensure that the gasket doesn’t have any cracks in it, and neither is it worn out. Some brands suggest changing the gasket once a year.
- Make sure not to overfill the cooker: Massive pressure builds within the cooker because of the quantity of liquid in it. Have you filled the food very high? If so, it can trap the food in the pressure release vent and cause an accident. The steam must escape, otherwise the pressure will build up and cause the cooker to explode.
- Don’t open the lid prior to the pressure getting released: When the pressure from the cooker gets released naturally, it’s best for cooking. It’s because there is no danger of a fast release. It is necessary to wait for the pressure to get reduced in the pot before opening it, or else there might be an explosion. It is more so if you are trying to forcefully open it.
Some experts suggest that you need to wait for a minimum of 10 minutes before opening the lid. Others even recommend a waiting time of 30 minutes for safety.
In conclusion, considering the pressure cooker accidents that have occurred in recent times, users should exercise caution. It is necessary to keep a note of the brands that have been recalled and check for other options. While purchasing, you should check the appliance and keep an eye out for any device faults so that you can get it replaced right there. However, if you still face an explosion despite implementing the preventive measures, you need to seek legal aid.
