This was not an isolated incident
Apparently, the sliding doors that injured James Hausman — a cruise ship passenger on Holland America’s M/S Amsterdam — had a record of hitting and injuring other passengers. According to evidence presented to a jury in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, dozens of other passengers had incidents — some resulting in injury — because of the sliding door’s faulty sensor settings.
The same faulty sliding doors injured other passengers
According to a Seattle Times article about the cruise ship injury trial, Holland America “suppressed” documentation for as many as 34 other sliding-door incidents throughout its fleet going back three years, including two incidents where passengers broke their hips and another where one suffered a back injury.
The claim was that Holland America had set the motion sensors on the sliding doors to close faster than normal in order to save money on air conditioning costs.
Repeated claims impacts jury’s decision
Seemingly, the notion that other sliding door accidents had injured other passengers traveling with Holland America — and nothing was done to correct the situation — impacted the jury’s decision to levy a high punitive damage amount to Holland America (Carnival Corporation – aka, Carnival Cruise Lines owns Holland America as well as various other cruise lines).
The verdict included $16.5 million in punitive damages against Holland America as well as $5 million for past and future pain, suffering and emotional distress.
Read more about this latest cruise ship injury
Our Blog (from Nov. 4): Jury Award Hurt Cruise Ship Passenger $21 Million
CruiseCritic.com: Read over 80 responses from the cruise industry and other concerned passengers in Cruise Critic Forums
The Consumerist.com: Jury Awards $21.5M To Cruise Passenger Struck In The Head By Ship’s Sliding-Glass Doors
Questions about cruise ship accidents or injuries?
If you have a specific question or are unsure about your legal rights as a cruise ship passenger, you should reach out to a cruise ship injury law firm like Waks and Barnett, P.A. Our contact information is at the top right hand side of this page. You can use 800-905-2891 for calling our firm or the contact form for emailing us.