After a surprise work birthday celebration causes a panic attack, a man wins a $450,000 lawsuit.
After his coworkers threw him a workplace birthday party against his desires, a Kentucky man was paid $450,000.
Who is Kevin Berling?
In August of this year, Kevin Berling, 29, was working as a lab technician at Gravity Diagnostics in Covington when his coworkers held a lunchtime celebration for him.
Berling claimed he had a panic attack as a result of the unwelcome attention and was fired from Gravity Diagnostics shortly after. According to legal documents obtained by The Washington Post, he later filed a compensation suit against the corporation.
Berling’s attorney, Tony Bucher, told local television station WKRC that “managers started giving him a hard time for his response to the birthday celebrations.” “They accused him of stealing the delight of his coworkers.”
When Berling first started at the company in 2018, he allegedly begged the office manager not to give him a birthday celebration.
The manager, on the other hand, “forgot” his request, and the office celebrations went on as planned, causing Berling to have a panic attack. He was compelled to run to his car, where he attempted to recover for an hour.
The following day, firm executives met with Berling to discuss his actions. A second panic attack ensued as a result of that occurrence.
Berling was sacked from Gravity Diagnostics less than a week later, after his supervisors expressed concern about him getting “angry and perhaps violent.”
As a result, the lab technician missed out on becoming a part of Gravity Diagnostics’ rapid expansion during the COVID pandemic. According to the Independent, some employees were granted 300 percent raises at the time.
Following his dismissal, the fired employee filed a case in Kenton County, demanding damages and reimbursement for lost wages.
During both of his panic attacks, Bucher told WKRC that his client was simply “using coping strategies to calm himself down,” and that there was no risk of his turning violent.
Berling was handed a $450,000 judgment against the corporation by a 12-person panel on Friday.
According to the court’s decision in Berling’s favor, the amount comprises $120,000 in lost income and benefits, $30,000 in future wages, and $300,000 for “past, present, and future mental pain and suffering, mental agony, shame, humiliation, mortification, and loss of self-esteem.”
Gravity Diagnostics has the option to appeal the ruling, although it is uncertain whether it will. The Washington Post has reached out to the company for comment.
