Buyers Beware of Wolfgang Puck Bistro Cookware!!!

I received three Wolfgang Puck Bistro pans as a gift from a friend. She did not provide me with a user's manual or set of instructions for use for the cookware.

About two months ago, I was boiling hot water for tea in my Wolfgang Puck Bistro sauce pan as I was getting ready for an event and had forgotten about the boiling water. When I had returned to the kitchen, the water had boiled out and the pan was very hot, so I tried to remove the pan from the heat source. As I was trying to transfer the pot to the kitchen sink, molten metal fell from the bottom of the pan and onto my kitchen throw rug. The metal had burned instantly through the rug, igniting the rug on fire. I was able to throw the burning rug into the kitchen sink, but in the process of putting out the fire, I stepped on droplets of the molten metal, burning my feet. (see photos)

I had attempted to contact Wolfgang Puck, but it took a while to find out who to contact. I finally found a website that described the proper usage of the pans, but this was all after the fact. The website described how damage could be done to the pan and the stove if the pan is cooked on High and there is no liquid in the pan. But no mention is made to molten metal dropping off the bottom of a pan. I have let water boil out of a pan once before (a different manufacturer), and never have I had the bottom melt off the pan. As I was barefoot trying to put the fire out, it is a wonder that my feet were not completely covered in the molten metal and that I did not suffer sever injuries.

Wolfgang Puck's lawyers say they will not reimburse me for the repairs to my flooring ($131.24) because they attribute the damage to "user error" and not a defect. I say that Wolfgang Puck is intentionally selling pans that could cause damage or injury to uninformed users like me. They were willing to replace my pan, but truthfully, I don't ever want another pan from them with such a designer defect.