Pregnant Woman Sues SharkNinja After Pressure Cooker Explosion Causes Burns

A newly filed lawsuit alleges a malfunctioning SharkNinja pressure cooker exploded on a pregnant woman, causing severe burns. Shaniece Steele is suing SharkNinja Operating LLC in a Washington federal court, claiming the company is liable for her injuries under the state's Product Liability Act.

According to Steele, the company makes and sells a pressure cooker that contains dangerous defects. 

She alleges the company knew or should have known that the SharkNinja Foodi pressure cooker that allegedly exploded was faulty. She’s now suing the company to compensate her for her alleged injuries. 

Explosion during meal prep

Steele says she was in her kitchen on March 14, 2022, using the SharkNinja pressure cooker to prepare a meal, when it suddenly exploded, causing scalding hot liquid, food and steam to fly out and onto her. 

Steele says she was pregnant at the time and says she suffered “severely painful and disfiguring burns” to her body, and required medical and nursing care and treatment afterwards. 

“The injuries are either permanent or continuing in nature, and Plaintiff Steele will continue to suffer such losses and impairment in the future,” the lawsuit says.

Defective design or manufacturing issues raised

A pressure cooker is designed to prepare meals by cooking liquids inside a pot that produces steam, which is trapped inside of the cooker to create pressure. The resulting high temperatures produced are expected to cook meals more efficiently, the lawsuit states. 

It is expected that SharkNinja tested and inspected the pressure cooker in order to ensure that it was free from defects and safe for consumer use, Steele says. 

She says she followed the instructions enclosed with the product and that it was within its anticipated useful safe life when it failed. Therefore, it would not have exploded unless it had a defect, she says. 

Steele’s lawsuit alleges SharkNinja “knew or should have known” that the pressure cooker was defective and dangerous. She is seeking damages of more than $75,000, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

SharkNinja faces mounting pressure cooker lawsuits

This is not the first lawsuit to be filed against SharkNinja alleging one of its pressure cookers exploded. A woman in Florida last month filed a similar claim, alleging her SharkNinja pressure cooker exploded, causing the contents to fly out of the pot and burn her. 

In 2023, the company was hit with a lawsuit alleging it misled customers by saying its nonstick cookware was made at 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit — about three times hotter than the surface of the sun. 

The plaintiff is represented by Jason P. Amala of Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC 

The SharkNinja pressure cooker lawsuit is Steele v. SharkNinja Operating LLC, Case No. 3:24-cv-05349 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.