Man Wins $450K In Lawsuit Over Unwanted Office Birthday Party

COVINGTON, KY — A Kentucky-based lab testing company is on the hook for $450,000 after a jury ruled the company caused injury to a former employee who suffered a panic attack during and after an office birthday party he previously asked not be held, according to a Washington Post report.

Kevin Berling told his boss at Gravity Diagnostics the day before his 27th birthday he didn't want the usual party because he associated his birthday with "bad memories" and was worried it could trigger an attack. Berling's anxiety is linked to his parents' divorce, which they told him about on his 17th birthday, according to the report.

The boss forgot to relay the request to the proper employees, and Berling showed up to work on Aug. 7, 2019, to an unwanted celebration, according to reports. Berling had a panic attack, even eating lunch by himself in his car, and suffered another one during a meeting with bosses the next day regarding the party. He was led from the building during the meeting and was fired soon after.

Berling was fired "for making his co-workers feel physically threatened and unsafe in the workplace," Gravity Diagnostics said in a motion for summary judgment obtained by Patch.

Gravity Diagnostics denies that Berling disclosed his anxiety to anyone at the company and that he never asked for accommodation for a disability, a Gravity Diagnostics spokesperson told Patch.

Bosses began "reading him the riot act" at the day-after meeting and told him his reaction stole joy from his co-workers, Tony Bucher, Berling's attorney, told WCPO Cincinnati.

Berling's supervisor, Amy Blackburn, testified she feared he was going to become violent during the meeting when he began turning red and "commanded silence," according to the Post report.

Blackburn and another employee were "terrified for their safety," a company spokesperson told Patch. The spokesperson said the company has a zero-tolerance policy that was followed to the letter when Berling was escorted out and had his building access taken before he was fired.

Berling has not exhibited violent behavior, and people suffering from panic attacks typically are "paralyzed with fear" and don't often lash out at others, Bucher told WCPO.

"They made assumptions that he was dangerous based off of his disability and not off of any evidence that he was violent," Bucher told the station.

The jury returned the verdict after a two-day trial in Kenton County that ended in late March, more than 2½ years after he was terminated. The jury awarded him $300,000 for emotional distress and $150,000 in lost wages.

Gravity Diagnostics, based in Covington, Kentucky, is filing post-trial motions and will appeal the verdict if necessary, according to the spokesperson.