The man asked a manager not to have a party because he had an anxiety disorder. What followed spiraled into a legal dispute over whether the man had a panic attack or a violent outburst.
A Kentucky man who was fired days after he had a panic attack at his workplace over an unwanted birthday party was awarded $450,000 by a jury last month for lost wages and emotional distress.
The man, Kevin Berling, had been working at a medical laboratory, Gravity Diagnostics in Covington, Ky., for about 10 months when he asked the office manager not to throw him a birthday party because he had an anxiety disorder, according to a lawsuit filed in Kentucky’s Kenton County Circuit Court.
Mr. Berling’s lawyer, Tony Bucher, said the party had been planned by other employees while the office manager was away and that the situation had quickly spiraled out of control.
Mr. Berling had a panic attack after he learned about the planned lunchtime celebration, which was to have included birthday wishes from colleagues and a banner decorating the break room. Mr. Berling chose to spend his lunch break in his car instead.
The next day, Mr. Berling had a panic attack in a meeting with two supervisors who confronted him about his “somber behavior,” Mr. Bucher said. He was fired three days later in an email that suggested that Mr. Berling posed a threat to his co-workers’ safety.
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