Tammy Reese was preparing chicken pot pie in the kitchen of a Pennsylvania social club a few years ago when a fireball enveloped her stove in a blinding flash.
In an instant, the room filled with smoke and Reese's screams.
The May 2017 explosion was caused by a canister of Swell cooking spray perched on a shelf above her stove, according to J. Craig Smith, Reese's attorney.
The can, which was not being used by Reese and was stored away from a heat source, began spraying its mixture of cooking oil and flammable propellants across the kitchen without warning, Reese alleged in a lawsuit against food company Conagra, which produces Swell alongside other cooking sprays such as Pam.
Reese was left with deep second-degree burns across her face, arms and hands, Smith told The Washington Post. Scars still cover her arms several years later.
"She said she was put through hell," Smith said.
On Monday, a Cook County, Ill., jury awarded Reese $7.1 million in damages to be paid by Conagra, which is based in the state. She may soon have company - Reese's victory comes as a raft of similar personal injury lawsuits against Conagra head to trial, according to Smith. He alleges that the injuries like Reese's were not freak accidents but the result of a dangerous flaw in Conagra's cooking spray canisters that has not been subject to a product recall.
"Having . . . our voices heard was important and was an important first step," Smith said. "Hopefully it's the tipping point for Conagra."
Dan Hare, a spokesperson for Conagra, said the company disagreed with the jury's verdict and is considering an appeal.
"Safety of our products and our consumers is always a top priority of Conagra," Hare said. "We continue to stand by our cooking spray products, which are safe and effective when used correctly, as instructed."
The can of Swell cooking spray that exploded in Reese's kitchen featured U-shaped vents on the bottom of the canister, according to Reese's lawsuit. The vents are designed to open if the pressurized can buckles or is subjected to high heat, reducing the pressure inside the can - and releasing its contents.
But compared with "standard" cans, the bottom-vented versions are weaker, less temperature resistant and carry a higher risk of injury, according to Reese's lawsuit. Conagra's packaging did not warn consumers of the risks posed by the can's design, and other cooking spray cans do not feature bottom-facing vents, the lawsuit states.
Hare, the Conagra spokesperson, said the can that injured Reese has not been available for more than four years. Smith conceded that Conagra stopped manufacturing the cans in 2019 after complaints but said that existing cans were never recalled. Both Conagra's Pam and Swell brands were packaged in the cans, Smith said.
Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, Smith's law firm, and Meyers & Flowers, another firm that also represented Reese, are litigating 55 cases against Conagra. Twenty-four of them involve alleged injuries during or after 2019.
"It's almost the exact same thing, almost every time," Smith said. "The cans are sitting in different places, but they're always a foot or two, probably, from a heat source, just on people's counters in their kitchen."
The Post was unable to find Conagra cooking sprays or the referenced cooking spray cans in a search of government recall databases. Conagra did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether it had taken steps to formally recall the cooking sprays in bottom-venting cans.
Reese worked as the head cook at Hub City Club in Shippensburg, Pa., at the time of her injury, Smith said. Surveillance video of the Hub City Club kitchen shows Reese cooking before a flash blinds the camera. Reese was engulfed in flames, and her hair was burned off, Smith said.
Reese's arms and hands were bandaged for several months after the incident, Smith said. She still works in a kitchen but struggles with the scarring on her arms.
"Every time she goes to work, it's a little bit of a reminder of what happened to her," Smith said.
Two more cases against Conagra are scheduled to go to trial in February, Smith said. He suggested that consumers using Conagra's cooking sprays check their cans and dispose of those with visible vents on the bottom.
"A lot of people still have them in their kitchens at home," Smith said. "And I worry about that. I want to get the word out - this is a clear and present danger."
Tammy Reese was preparing chicken pot pie in the kitchen of a Pennsylvania social club a few years ago when a fireball enveloped her stove in a blinding flash. In an instant, the room filled with smoke and Reese's screams.
The May 2017 explosion was caused by a canister of Swell cooking spray perched on a shelf above her stove, according to J. Craig Smith, Reese's attorney. The can, which was not being used by Reese and was stored away from a heat source, began spraying its mixture of cooking oil and flammable propellants across the kitchen without warning, Reese alleged in a lawsuit against food company Conagra, which produces Swell alongside other cooking sprays such as Pam.
Reese was left with deep second-degree burns across her face, arms and hands, Smith told The Washington Post. Scars still cover her arms several years later.
"She said she was put through hell," Smith said.
On Monday, a Cook County, Ill., jury awarded Reese $7.1 million in damages to be paid by Conagra, which is based in the state. She may soon have company - Reese's victory comes as a raft of similar personal injury lawsuits against Conagra head to trial, according to Smith. He alleges that the injuries like Reese's were not freak accidents but the result of a dangerous flaw in Conagra's cooking spray canisters that has not been subject to a product recall.
"Having . . . our voices heard was important and was an important first step," Smith said. "Hopefully it's the tipping point for Conagra."
Dan Hare, a spokesperson for Conagra, said the company disagreed with the jury's verdict and is considering an appeal.
"Safety of our products and our consumers is always a top priority of Conagra," Hare said. "We continue to stand by our cooking spray products, which are safe and effective when used correctly, as instructed."
The can of Swell cooking spray that exploded in Reese's kitchen featured U-shaped vents on the bottom of the canister, according to Reese's lawsuit. The vents are designed to open if the pressurized can buckles or is subjected to high heat, reducing the pressure inside the can - and releasing its contents.
But compared with "standard" cans, the bottom-vented versions are weaker, less temperature resistant and carry a higher risk of injury, according to Reese's lawsuit. Conagra's packaging did not warn consumers of the risks posed by the can's design, and other cooking spray cans do not feature bottom-facing vents, the lawsuit states.
Hare, the Conagra spokesperson, said the can that injured Reese has not been available for more than four years. Smith conceded that Conagra stopped manufacturing the cans in 2019 after complaints but said that existing cans were never recalled. Both Conagra's Pam and Swell brands were packaged in the cans, Smith said.
Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, Smith's law firm, and Meyers & Flowers, another firm that also represented Reese, are litigating 55 cases against Conagra. Twenty-four of them involve alleged injuries during or after 2019.
"It's almost the exact same thing, almost every time," Smith said. "The cans are sitting in different places, but they're always a foot or two, probably, from a heat source, just on people's counters in their kitchen."
The Post was unable to find Conagra cooking sprays or the referenced cooking spray cans in a search of government recall databases. Conagra did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether it had taken steps to formally recall the cooking sprays in bottom-venting cans.
Reese worked as the head cook at Hub City Club in Shippensburg, Pa., at the time of her injury, Smith said. Surveillance video of the Hub City Club kitchen shows Reese cooking before a flash blinds the camera. Reese was engulfed in flames, and her hair was burned off, Smith said.
Reese's arms and hands were bandaged for several months after the incident, Smith said. She still works in a kitchen but struggles with the scarring on her arms.
"Every time she goes to work, it's a little bit of a reminder of what happened to her," Smith said.
Two more cases against Conagra are scheduled to go to trial in February, Smith said. He suggested that consumers using Conagra's cooking sprays check their cans and dispose of those with visible vents on the bottom.
"A lot of people still have them in their kitchens at home," Smith said. "And I worry about that. I want to get the word out - this is a clear and present danger."
The Washington Post