Local Couple Files Suit Over Exploding Pressure Cooker Case
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- It's advertised as a revolutionary pressure cooker that cooks up meals faster and more delicious than ever before. But a South Florida couple is suing the cooker's maker and the store where they bought it, claiming dinner blew up in their face.
Lili Bekteva and her husband, Serg Tchernykh, claim their Tristar Products Power Pressure Cooker XL exploded as she and her husband prepared a meal last October.
"He started to open it, and it blew out everything," Lili recalled in an interview with CBS4's Gary Nelson on Wednesday. "All my soup is on the wall, and even on the back of the fridge."
Never mind the exploding mess on the walls and cabinets and floor, her husband was seriously hurt.
Click here to watch Gary Nelson's report.
"He burned his arms completely, and when he removed the clothes, shorts, his leg also was burned," she said. "It was a lot, a lot."
Serg had ugly, second degree burns to his arms from the elbows to the finger tips. Lili suffered a less serious burn and swollen hand. They are suing Tristar, the cooker's maker, and Bed Bath and Beyond, the store that sold it to them.
Pressure cookers occasionally are known to blow. Tristar's Power Cooker, however, apparently only recently came on the market. The company applied for its trademark and copyrights in 2014. Already, complaints ranging from minor to scary have appeared on the web.
Two people have complained to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. One woman said she was burned when her Tristar exploded, spattering her with scalding chicken soup. Another woman told the government agency that she and her son left the kitchen moments before her Tristar blew up.
"It is very dangerous. I'm sure they have some kinds of issues and defects," Lili Bekteva said.
CBS4 News found the cookers stacked high for sale near the front entrance of a Bed Bath and Beyond in Hialeah.
Lili and her husband Serg want them off the market before somebody else gets burned.
"We want to know what happened here," said Jason Turchin, the attorney representing the couple in their federal lawsuit. "We want to make sure if this product is defective, that it gets fixed immediately."
A spokesperson for Bed Bath and Beyond said the company would not comment on pending litigation. Tristar Products, the cooker's maker, did not return messages from CBS4 News.
