Man Who Was Burned By Plate Of Fajitas During Prayer Session Can't Sue Applebee's, Court Rules

Hiram Jimenez, the man who burned himself during a moment of prayer in an Applebee's restaurant, cannot sue the restaurant, an appellate court has ruled.

Jimenez, who had intended to seek damages from the restaurant, visited Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Burlington, New Jersey, in March 2010. According to the ruling, Jimenez ordered fajitas, which were brought to him on a "sizzling skillet."

When he lowered his head close to the table in prayer, Jimenez heard "a loud sizzling noise, followed by 'a pop noise' and then felt a burning sensation in his left eye and on his face." Jimenez later claimed that he was burned "in his face, neck, and arms," according to the Courier Post.

The case has already been dismissed once before, and now Jimenez's appeal has also been shot down, with a statement from a two-judge panel that the risk posed by the sizzling platter was "self-evident" and that the restaurant had no further duty to warn the customer that his food should be "approached with due care."