Visitor Question

Nerve severed in hand when rivet in cooking pan exploded…

Submitted By: John (California / Taiwan)

I am a US citizen who purchased a Cuisinart Pan in California. I now live in Taiwan, where while using the above mentioned pan a rivet that secures the handle exploded. It severed my FDS tendon and medial nerve in my left hand.

Do I have any legal recourse with the company? I have found numerous other cases where this same type of defect occurred, but I am the only one that I know of to receive a serious injury. The company knows of this type of design but seems to have done nothing to correct it. What can I do? Thanks.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear John,

You certainly have legal recourse. Your injuries are very serious. You have several choices. You can retain an attorney in Taiwan to represent you, retain an attorney in any state in the United States where Cuisinart does business…(that should be every state in the country), or

“opt-in” to

an existing class action lawsuit against the Cuisinart Corporation.

Your injury claim is considered a “defective product” claim. The Cuisinart Corporation had a legal duty to create and manufacturer a product which is safe for those consumers who properly use the product.

In your case, Cuisinart appears to have breached that duty of care. You have a right to compensation for your medical bills, out of pocket expenses (for medications, bandages, etc.), your lost wages (if applicable), and your pain and suffering.

Because of the seriousness of your injuries, your best interest would be served by retaining an attorney with substantial experience in defective product claims.

Fortunately, most attorneys handling defective product claims do not charge for initial office consultations. Additionally, once you retain an attorney, you will not be obligated to pay any fees until, and unless your attorney settles your claim or wins it at trial.

Gather copies of your medical records and bills, and begin contacting several attorneys. It is likely you may not have to travel to the United States until such time as your claim is litigated and pretrial depositions are required.

Learn more here: Defective Product Claims

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

Published:

4 thoughts on “Nerve severed in hand when rivet in cooking pan exploded…

  1. Chelle says:

    Same exact thing with Granite Stone cook wear. Small frying pan, cooking on gas stove today, loud gunshot noise. Rivet blew off, ricocheted off opposite area then landed on floor. Class action needs to brought against that company.

  2. Marty says:

    Cooking on gas stove when our Granitestone small fry pan’s rivet shot off, sounded like a gunshot. The rivet landed about 30 ft. from the stove. Luckily no one was hurt. Very dangerous. Heat must have popped it right off. Scary.

  3. Dyce says:

    Wow,Identical story as above, only mine was “GraniteStone” brand, 8 inch skillet. Being a QE, I contacted the manufacturing offering my info and help with troubleshooting the root cause for this defective product, I would provide pictures to their Quality department and my input about failure. Their response was “Please provide proof of purchase, color of set for a replacement“. I replied, “I do NOT wish to have a replacement Defective product“. After that, I heard “crickets” from them. Guess they do NOT have a Quality Department nor do they care.

  4. Bruce says:

    We have a Tefal fry pan, hard anodised. One of the rivets exploded, with an almighty noise like a gun going off. Luckily we were not near it when it happened, and no injury to us. I hate to think what could have happened if we were near it at the time.

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