In the US state of Kentucky, a man whose company had a birthday party, despite the warning that he had a stress and anxiety disorder, filed a lawsuit and was entitled to compensation of $450 thousand.
Kevin Berling, who claimed that the birthday party held in 2019 at Gravity Diagnostics in the USA against his will, started a series of panic attacks in him, filed a lawsuit against his workplace. Complainant Berling’s argument was settled in his favour.
Berling also argued that his company discriminated against him because he was disabled. The company, which denied the accusations, lost the lawsuit filed by Berling and was ordered to pay 450 thousand dollars in compensation.
In the petition with Kenson District Court, Berling, who has an anxiety disorder, told his manager that he did not want any celebration, that he could trigger a panic attack by recalling bad memories from his childhood.
However, despite Berling’s request, the company conducting the Covid-19 tests gave the complainant a panic attack at a surprise birthday party in August 2019.
The petition stated that Berling was “challenged and acted” at the business meeting the next day and was accused of “stealing the joy of coworkers and acting like a little girl”. It was noted that the tense meeting triggered another panic attack, after which the company sent Berling home for the remainder of August 8 and August 9.
On 11 August, the company fired Berling, citing workplace safety concerns. In his petition, Berling argued that the company discriminated against him because he was disabled and that he was unfairly retaliated for wanting a birthday party not to be held.
In the trial, which ended at the end of last month, the jury ordered Berling to receive $300,000 for emotional stress and $150,000 for lost wages.
The company’s Managing Director, Julie Brazil, said Gravity Diagnostics stood by Berling’s decision to terminate her employment, arguing that it violated its “workplace violence policy.”
“VICTIM EMPLOYEES”
Brazil stated that they are considering appealing the decision with the statements “In this case, my employees are the victims, not the plaintiffs”.
Berling’s lawyer, Tony Bucher, said in a statement to a TV channel that there was “absolutely no evidence” that his client was threatening anyone at the company enough to deserve to be fired.
Bucher “He had a panic attack. That’s all. When the representative of Gravity Diagnostics had a panic attack, they couldn’t understand their reaction, they were disturbed and thought it was a threat. Thinking that people with
According to information from the National Mental Health Alliance, over 40 million Americans, or about 20% of the population, suffer from anxiety disorders.
