'Sizzling skillet' at Applebee's was 'open and obvious' danger to praying diner, court says
A man who says his face, neck and arms were burned after he bent over a “sizzling skillet” at an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar in New Jersey to pray had hoped to collect damages.
But a trial judge nixed the superior court lawsuit filed by Hiram Jimenez and the trial judge got it right, the Appellate Division ruled (PDF) on Wednesday. Calling the hot skillet an “open and obvious” danger, the two-judge panel said the restaurant had no duty to warn the plaintiff to take due care, reports the Cherry Hill Courier-Post.
The suit says Jimenez panicked after grease popped from the steak fajita he had ordered at the Burlington County restaurant and knocked the hot plate into his lap, noted the New Jersey Advance. However, he does not appear to have suffered permanent scarring, the appellate panel said.
