Useful Tips to Save Yourself from Severe Bruises in Instant Pot Explosions

No kitchen is complete without a pressure cooker. Since everyone wants their kitchen to look updated and new-age, people often opt for Instant Pots that come with advanced features. While it might just appear to be a perfect idea to cook a meal for yourself, your family, or friends at home, you need to realize that there have been far too many Instant Pot explosions taking place recently.

Pressure cookers might explode when there are design and manufacturing defects. It leads to injuries like contact burns, and steam burns. Correct safety measures can reduce the chances of these explosions and save people from fatal injuries.

In this article, we will shed light on pressure cooker injuries that take place and ways to ensure that you don’t encounter one.

Pressure Cooker Explosion Burns a Woman’s Face

In September 2023, Nidia Rico, a 29-year-old woman, witnessed an Instant Pot explosion with no warning that caused severe burns. She was at home and decided to use a different pressure cooker than what she used for three years. The one she used had an internal pressure seal that was meant to avert any kind of explosion. Hence, she prepared the food and seasoned it, placed it inside the pot, and kept it at medium heat for close to 10 minutes.

Nidia said when she tried to take the air out, the cooker wasn’t operating correctly. Also, the pot lid was hard to open and finally, when she could open it, there was an explosion. Her face felt extremely hot. She was dizzy and shouted out. Initially, she thought that her face had been completely damaged.

When she visited a doctor, she was told that the left part of her face had first-degree burns. The areas that were affected the most included her cheek, eyelid, and the space between the nose and the mouth. She had been hospitalized for a day and was suggested to stay indoors so that her face could heal. It took months for her to heal up completely with just minor spots left on her face.

There are several such instances where, other than burns, people have been affected with bleeding, scrapes and cuts, eye injuries, as well as traumatic brain injuries. TorHoerman Law states that any person who suffered from Instant Pot explosions can file a lawsuit and seek fair compensation. For this, it is necessary to get in touch with a lawyer who will guide you through the legal process and represent you in court.

Instant Pot explosion victims must document the entire explosion and keep evidence of the same. That means they can take pictures of their injuries, the explosion scene, and a picture of the Instant Pot that might look correct but can have defective features. They should also submit the medical reports along with it.

All these will help the lawyers to include the salient points and develop a strong case that will be compelling enough for the judge to grant a good compensation amount.

Tips To Avoid Pressure Cooker Explosion Injuries

The first attempt should be to ensure that there are no Instant Pot explosions. And for that, users must choose pressure cookers that provide safety measures that help to avoid explosions altogether. These features alert the user about any issue that might occur during cooking so that they can address it and prevent the explosion.

The essential safety measures are as follows:

Ensure Proper Pressure Control

Typically, the Instant Pot will select the level of the pressure automatically based on the recipe you select. You can control the pressure manually just in case you wish to have more or less steam. Correct pressure control will avert the risk of Instant Pot explosions or any other accidents. These pots have a specialized button that releases extra pressure that can avert any kind of pot blowout and severe injury from any high steam and pressure.

Keep the Lid Locked Under Pressure

Every pressure cooker comes with a sturdy lid which is characterized by a steel locking edge. Hence, when users put the lid correctly locked, with the pressure building inside the cooker, the lid stays locked in the correct place. There is a 10-minute timer that comes into effect in case the pressure doesn’t get released. That means you aren’t able to open the cooker lid irrespective of all your efforts when it is under pressure.

When 10 minutes are over, the pressure inside the pot will get released naturally if not for any longer. It is then safe to remove the lid.

Safety Valves

This feature acts as an ultimate fail-safe in the cooker that will prevent an explosion. It ensures that the cooker doesn’t reach any pressure levels that it cannot withstand. As and when the right amount of pressure is exceeded, the safety valves start to lift and open up a channel for the excess heat to pass away.

Typically, Instant Pots come with three safety valves. In the first valve, there is the lid which helps in releasing excess steam in case there is too much of it inside the pot. The second valve is situated inside the handle that you hardly notice. Last but not least, the third is located beneath the unit.

Lid Position Detection

There is an inbuilt mechanism to decide whether the lid is situated in a risky position. You can close the lid, but not completely. When the pressure builds gradually, it can make the lid dislodge and lead to an unsafe explosion. However, with the lid detection users will note it and can turn off the cooker automatically.

Finally, users must check these safety measures in an Instant Pot so that any kind of explosion can be averted. Users should check the Instant Pot manufacturers that offer these features and check whether they are placed correctly. Additionally, they should check the lawsuit updates to know the brands that are accountable for such explosions and the brands that provide the best products.

However, if they face any explosion or accident, it is necessary to file a lawsuit and seek compensation for their wounds, medical expenses, and other pain and suffering.