The NutriBullet is known for being an easy way to make smoothies in a pretty short amount of time. But now some consumers are claiming the machine is leading to injuries.
The maker of the high speed blender is now being sued by at least 22 people for alleged injuries that include lacerations and burns. The users claim the amount of pressure the ingredients are under is causing the container to burst off, leading the spinning blades to cut people or the contents inside to cause burns.
The lawsuit is demanding NutriBullet recall its products and add warning labels explaining the dangers of the blender.
Sheryl Utal, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, told CBS News she used her NutriBullet daily for years to make smoothies, but one morning, it exploded after about 20 seconds, causing second-degree burns.
“It just came flying out all over me, all over the kitchen, the ceilings, the walls,” Utal says. “And it was on my chest. It also had hit me in the face as well.”
Another user, Brendan Cosso, told FOX 11 in Los Angeles that the blades of his NutriBullet cut his hand when the container exploded.
"The two blades basically chopped into my palm, still to this day, I can't feel my finger," he said. "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."
The latest to file suit, according to attorney Danny Abir, is Rosa Rivera, who claims her NutriBullet also exploded, leading to burns on her chest and face.
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These new cases are not the first time Homeland Housewares, the makers of NutriBullet, have seen a lawsuit for the product. In March 2017, a man named Pete Damiano also filed suit after his NutriBullet allegedly exploded.
Abir, whose firm is handling these new cases, claims the malfunction is due to a manufacturing defect.
“The spinning creates heat and pressure inside the canister and the canister can blow up," he told CBS News.
Homeland Housewares, however, say the injuries are due to misuse of the blender, with Mark Suzomoto, a corporate attorney for NutriBullet, telling FOX 11 that it's "physically impossible" for a NutriBullet to heat up enough to burst after just 15 to 20 seconds of use with cool or room temperature contents.
And in a statement to PEOPLE, NutriBullet says, “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.”
The NutriBullet is made by the same company that produces the Magic Bullet, but the NutriBullet is more powerful. According to the product's website, it has 600 watts, compared to Magic Bullet's 250. The company also makes the Baby Bullet, which has 200 watts.
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