Customers Sue NutriBullet, Claim High-Speed Blender Causes Serious Injuries

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – More than 20 people are suing the maker of a popular high-speed blender, claiming the device caused serious injuries.

The NutriBullet is billed as a high-speed appliance that can pulverize food better than an ordinary blender. But some users claim the device is also dangerous.

"It just came flying out all over me, all over the kitchen, the ceiling, the walls," Sheryl Utal said.

She says she used her NutriBullet daily for years to make smoothies until one morning it exploded after about 20 seconds, causing second-degree burns.

"On fire," she said. "Yeah it was on my chest, it also had hit me in the face, as well."

Utal is one of at least 22 people now suing NutriBullet. The latest, Rose Rivera, spoke out Tuesday, saying her face was badly burned.

"I want to tell the people: Don't use this product no more, because it's dangerous," she said.

Attorney Danny Abir represents both women and claims a manufacturing defect can cause pressure to build up inside the blender.

"The spinning creates heat and pressure inside the canister, and the canister can blow up," he said.

NutriBullet is contesting the lawsuits Abir filed on behalf of his clients.

"Reports of our blenders causing injury are extremely rare… We typically find customers have failed to adhere to the operating instructions and warnings provided," the company said in a statement.

"We have 22 cases, and we are one firm in Los Angeles," Abir countered.

"Had I known that that device, the NutriBullet, could hurt me, I wouldn't have used it. And so that's what I want people to know is that those can hurt you," Utal said.

NutriBullet maintains the devices are safe, with hundreds of millions of satisfied users.