Cruise line to appeal 21 million dollar pay-out to injured passenger

Sunday, 03 Nov, 2015 0

Holland America has vowed to appeal a court’s decision to award a cruise passenger a $21.5 million settlement.

A Seattle jury awarded James Hausman of Illinois the settlement after he was hit by an automatic sliding door during a world cruise in 2011.

He was struck in the side of the head and diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury and post concussive syndrome.

Hausman’s attorneys Rick Friedman and David Roosa said there had been about a dozen similar incidents involving automatic sliding doors on Holland America cruise ships where guests needed medical treatment.

"We’re very happy for our clients and we believe that this is a just and a fair verdict. This lawsuit wasn’t their first option; it was their last option, and unfortunately it was necessary," Roosa said.

The cruise line responded in a statement: "Holland America Line is committed to the safety and security of our guests and takes all incidents very seriously. We have no comment regarding the specifics of the lawsuit, other than we will be pursuing an appeal."

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Bev

Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.

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