Tourist Receives $21,500,000 After Being Hit by Sliding Door (2 Photos + 1 Video)

A 56-year-old man has been awarded a huge amount of money after being hit by a sliding door on a cruise ship.





Video footage captured the moment Jim walked down a hallway when an automatic sliding door slammed shut behind him, hitting her hard on the head. Although the blow looked harmless enough, Jim and his wife Carol discovered that it was actually the beginning of a series of health problems.

After the cruise ship incident, the couple continued to enjoy their cruise as usual, hoping that a few days of relaxation would be just what the doctor ordered. However, even after the cruise ended, the problems did not go away and even worsened.

In an interview with Inside Edition, Carol said, "The doctor initially thought it was a bump on the head, a laceration, and that he would recover. He became irritable, moody, and eventually he started having seizures."



After a lawsuit, a federal jury in Washington state initially awarded Houseman $21.5 million. However, Judge Barbara Rothstein overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial. The reason was that Houseman's former personal assistant, Amy Mizer, contacted Holland America to say he had deleted emails that could hurt his case. She said she had seen Houseman deleting emails over several days that he was supposed to give to Holland America's lawyers before the grand jury trial and discovery.

It was also alleged that Houseman chose not to disclose the existence of one of his email accounts. The judge said at the time: "Houseman seemed to exploit his alleged brain injury when it suited him. He became confused or claimed memory loss when confronted with a question or piece of evidence that seemed to undermine his case, but was animated and full of information when his testimony supported his case."