Summary: A federal judge threw out a jury verdict awarded to a man injured aboard the cruise lines ship after new evidence suggests he has tampered with evidence and faked his symptoms.
A $21.5 million jury verdict has been tossed by a federal judge. The lawsuit by an Illinois man that suffered an injury while on a Holland America around-the-world cruise four years ago was dismissed after new evidence came forward against the legitimacy of the man’s injury.
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The former assistant of James R. Hausman came forward with testimony that he deleted emails that would have hurt his case. This was enough for U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein to order a new trial. Holland America presented evidence that Hausman fabricated evidence about his injury, tampered with evidence about his injury, deleted emails, and hid the amount of alcohol he routinely consumed. He is accused of lying, witness tampering, destroying evidence, and suborning perjury but he claims his former assistant is only trying to get back at him for being fired.
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Hausman claimed that he suffered a brain injury after running into a sliding-glass door on the cruise ship. He was still able to complete the cruise but claims he suffers from memory loss, seizures, and vertigo. His assistant also testified that he is faking some of his symptoms, was told to lie about his marriage, and told to delete emails. She elaborates by claiming that Hausman spent a lot of time “researching seizures and watching Internet videos of people having seizures.”
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The initial lawsuit included $16.5 million in punitive damages and $5 million for past and future pain, suffering, and emotional distress. A new trial date has not yet been set.
Photo: cruisebrothers.com