NutriBullet Sued After Blenders Explode On Consumers Making Smoothies

The makers of NutriBullet blenders are being sued after consumers say their devices malfunctioned, leaving them with severe cuts and painful burns. Fourteen plaintiffs allege that the NutriBullet's fast-spinning blades cause the blender's contents to overheat, pressurize, and explode.

"This thing just chopped my hand to pieces pretty much," Brendan Cosso told Los Angeles' FOX 11. "I was making it, went to grab it, the container exploded off, and my hand went right into the blades."

Cosso claims to have used the blender for years without problem. But it burst just 20 seconds after he turned it on in September, leaving him with a permanent nerve injury in his hand.

"The two blades basically chopped into my palm. Still to this day, I can't feel my finger," he continued. "It hit a branch of my ulnar nerve. I've got a pretty high tolerance for pain. It was deep and the meat was kind of hanging out. I had to go get stitches."

Another one of the plaintiffs, Sheryl Utal, experienced a similar incident in May.

"I had my hands on it, like you normally do as you put it in and turn it to lock it in place, and it was on for maybe 15 to 20 seconds and it exploded," she told FOX 11. "It spins so fast that it heats up the contents, the contents get under pressure, and the device explodes, so that hot liquid exploded onto me and created nasty burns."

Utal was left with second-degree burns on her arms and her chest. Her statement in the lawsuit alleges that the accident immediately sent her into shock. Her attorney, Doug Rochen, has now filed a total of 22 separate lawsuits against NutriBullet.

In a statement to The Daily Meal, NutriBullet said: "Customer safety and satisfaction are paramount at NutriBullet. Reports of blenders, which have operated normally for years, suddenly turning cool ingredients into scalding hot mixtures after less than 20 seconds of normal operation are perplexing and contrary to the hundreds of millions of uses by satisfied NutriBullet customers worldwide. We will investigate the claims thoroughly and analyze the blenders in question to determine exactly what happened. Whatever the circumstances surrounding these accidents, we wish prompt and complete recoveries to those involved."

For more dangers lurking in the kitchen, check out Gordon Ramsey and 9 other chefs who cheated death.