A federal judge has tossed a $21.5 million verdict that a passenger was awarded after being hit in the head by a sliding glass door on a cruise ship in 2011.
James Hausman was on an eight month world cruise in 2011 when an automatic sliding door by the pool hit him in the head. He was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury and post concussive syndrome. His wife said he has experienced fatigue and dizziness ever since the incident and has also had problems with memory loss. He filed a lawsuit against Holland America Line and a jury awarded him $21.5 million in October 2015.
Barbara Rothstein, a U.S. District Judge, threw out the verdict on Tuesday and ordered a new trial based on new evidence. The passenger’s former assistant came forward and said that he deleted emails that could have hurt his case. The judge said that the emails should have been turned over to the cruise line’s lawyers instead of being deleted.
A new trial date has not yet been set.
Photo Credit: Holland America Line’s Surveillance
