Household appliances—from kitchen equipment to laundry machines to home heating systems—can cause serious injuries when they malfunction. Defective appliance claims hold manufacturers liable for design flaws, manufacturing errors, and inadequate warnings that lead to burns, electrocutions, fires, and other injuries.
Common Appliance Defects
Electrical defects cause electrocution and fire hazards. Faulty wiring, inadequate insulation, defective ground fault protection, and short circuits can create deadly conditions. Appliances should never pose electrocution risk during normal use.
Heating element failures in ovens, toasters, space heaters, and water heaters can cause burns and fires. Elements that overheat, fail to shut off, or ignite nearby materials create serious hazards.
Pressure-related defects in pressure cookers, instant pots, and similar appliances can cause explosive failures and severe burns from hot contents. Defective pressure release mechanisms and faulty lid locks are common issues.
Mechanical failures in washing machines, dryers, and other appliances with moving parts can cause injuries when components break, become unbalanced, or fail to contain rotating elements properly.
Kitchen Appliance Injuries
Pressure cookers and instant pots have generated significant litigation. Defective lid locks can allow opening under pressure, spraying scalding contents. Faulty pressure release valves can cause explosive failures.
Blenders and food processors with inadequate safety interlocks can operate with lids removed or improperly secured, causing lacerations and other injuries from exposed blades.
Ovens and stoves can cause burns from defective door seals, fires from faulty ignition systems, and gas leaks from defective connections or valves.
Refrigerators with defective door seals or latches have caused entrapment deaths, particularly of children. Fire hazards from defective compressors and electrical systems also occur.
Laundry Equipment Hazards
Washing machines can cause injuries from unbalanced drums that break free, doors that open during operation, and electrical failures. Front-loading machines have been linked to mold growth causing respiratory illness.
Dryers cause house fires when defective lint systems allow buildup or heating elements overheat. Dryer fires cause hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage annually.
Heating and Cooling Equipment
Space heaters are a leading cause of home fires. Defects include tip-over switches that fail to work, heating elements that ignite nearby materials, and inadequate thermal protection.
Furnaces and boilers can cause carbon monoxide poisoning from cracked heat exchangers, fires from fuel leaks, and explosions from defective safety controls.
Water heaters can cause scalding from defective temperature controls and explosions from failed pressure relief valves.
Proving Appliance Defect Claims
Preserve the appliance in its post-incident condition. Don't attempt repairs or dispose of the appliance. It's the most important evidence in your case.
Document the incident thoroughly with photographs of the appliance, the scene, and your injuries. Keep all packaging, manuals, and warranty materials. Note the model number, serial number, and purchase information.
Evidence that supports defect claims includes the appliance itself for expert analysis, manufacturing and quality control records, prior complaints and incidents involving the same model, recall history, Consumer Product Safety Commission reports, and expert testimony on the defect and causation.
Strict Liability and Negligence
Appliance defect claims typically proceed under strict liability (the appliance was defective regardless of manufacturer care) and negligence (the manufacturer failed to exercise reasonable care). Both theories may apply, maximizing recovery opportunities.
Failure to warn claims may also apply when appliances lack adequate safety warnings or usage instructions.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The CPSC regulates many household appliances and investigates safety issues. Checking CPSC databases may reveal prior incidents, recalls, or investigations involving your appliance. This information supports your claim by showing the manufacturer knew or should have known of the defect.
Report your incident to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov. Your report may help identify patterns that lead to recalls protecting other consumers.
Pursuing Compensation
Appliance defect injuries can be severe—serious burns, electrocution, and fire-related injuries require extensive medical treatment. Compensation may include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and property damage.
Contact a product liability attorney to evaluate your claim. These technical cases require expert analysis to identify defects and prove causation.