A Kentucky man won $450,000 in a lawsuit against his former employer who allegedly fired him for having a panic attack and leaving his own surprise birthday party.
Kevin Berling suffers from an anxiety disorder that causes him to suffer panic attacks whenever he is the center of attention in a large group of people. It was for this specific reason that he asked his bosses at Gravity Diagnostics in Covington, a Kentucky medical lab, not to throw him a surprise birthday party, in 2019. However, a manager at the company claims he forgot about Berling’s request, so they threw a birthday party for him anyway. That caused Kevin to have a panic attack and storm out of his own celebration, which later caused him to lose his job.