An Applebee’s customer who says he was burned while leaning over a plate of hot fajitas to pray before his meal can’t sue the restaurant, an appellate court ruled yesterday, because the hot food presented an “open and obvious” danger.

A New Jersey man had been seeking damages from his local Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar after an incident dating back to March 2010, reports the Courier-Post.

He claimed that as he bowed his head “close to the table,” he heard a “loud sizzling noise followed by a ‘pop noise’ and then felt a burning sensation in his left eye and on his face.”

According to an incident report, the man said he was burned on his face, neck and arms after “grease popped” on the fajitas.

His lawsuit alleges that the waitress didn’t warn him ahead of time that the dish was hot, and that as a result, he suffered “serious and permanent” injuries “solely as a result of (Applebee’s) negligence when he came in contact with a dangerous and hazardous condition, specifically, ‘a plate of hot food’.”

A trial judge had already dismissed the suit, saying that Applebee’s wasn’t required to warn the customer “against a danger that is open and obvious.”

The customer appealed, but the two-judge appellate panel agreed, noting that the risk from a plate of hot fajitas was “self-evident,” the court ruled, saying Applebee’s had no duty to warn [the customer] that the food was sizzling hot and should be approached with due care.”

The thought here being, if you’re ordering fajitas, even if you’ve never heard of them before, putting your face close to an obviously hot dish spitting oil is not a good idea.

Man burned by fajitas while praying can’t sue Applebee’s [The Courier-Post]

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