PA Woman Awarded $7.1M After Cooking Spray 'Exploded Into Fireball'

CHICAGO, IL — A jury this week ordered Chicago-based Conagra Brands to pay a Pennsylvania woman more than $7 million after she suffered burns when a can of cooking spray exploded and set her on fire, according to multiple reports.

The verdict, issued Monday in favor of Tammy Reese of Shippensburg, is the first of numerous other cases from burn victims across the country with similar stories citing accidents that occurred with Conagra-made cooking spray brands, including its popular grocery store brand Pam.

According to a New York Times report, Reese was working in a kitchen at Hub City Club in Shippensburg in May 2017 when a can of cooking spray "exploded into a fireball, causing burns."

A lawyer for Reese told the Times she suffered second-degree burns to her head, face, hands and arms. She spent weeks undergoing treatment, the report said.

"She's been through a lot, and she deserves this compensation," attorney J. Craig Smith told the Times. "The can of cooking spray in this case was unreasonably dangerous and they failed to warn about it."

Conagra must pay out $3.1 million in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages to Reese, according to the Cook County Circuit Court verdict. Conagra Brands is the parent company of Pam and many other high-profile food brands, including Marie Callender's, Reddi-wip, Swiss Miss, Hunt's, Chef Boyardee and Slim Jim.

The company said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that it disagreed with the jury's verdict and that the "safety of our products and our consumers is always a top priority of Conagra."

"We continue to stand by our cooking spray products, which are safe and effective when used correctly, as instructed. We are evaluating our legal options, including appeal," the statement said.

Smith said there are more than 50 pending cases against Conagra from other burn victims across the country, and that the company has refused to issue a product recall for the "defective" cans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.