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A West Bend could be looking to collect nearly $130,000 over a hairy steak he got from a restaurant.

It wasn’t just an errant strand of hair on the meat; an angry cook had stuffed the steak with hidden facial or pubic hairs. But whether the shocked diner will get the big payout remains in question.

Kevin Hansen sued Texas Roadhouse after he got the adulterated steak in February 2008. In September, a Washington County jury awarded him $1,500 for lost wages, $3,000 for medical bills, $25,000 for pain and suffering plus $100,000 in punitive damages.

In post-trial motions, Texas Roadhouse argued that since the jury found the company was not negligent, the only awards that were proper were for lost wages and medical bills, under breach of warranty contract claim. It also asked that Hansen pay its costs of the litigation because the $4,500 was less than the $50,000 he had been offered to settle the case.

But Circuit Judge Andrew Gonring on Wednesday upheld the punitive damages, finding that the jury, despite apparent confusion over some questions on the verdict form, clearly wanted to punish restaurant management for not taking action sooner against Ryan Kropp, the cook who put the hair in Hansen’s steak. Kropp had taken similar actions at least twice before, Hansen claimed in his lawsuit.

Attorneys for the restaurant said they are considering appeal options.

Kropp pleaded guilty in June 2008 to placing foreign objects in edibles and was sentenced to six months in jail and two years of probation. His manager had told him prepare a second steak for Hansen after he complained about the first one. Kropp later told police he was angry because he believed Hansen was "just trying to get free stuff." and hid a wad of facial hair in slit he cut into the steak. A co-worker told police Kropp had claimed he used pubic hairs.

Hansen took the steak home and didn’t discover the problem until the next day.