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Man wins $450K lawsuit after surprise birthday party at work triggers his panic attack

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WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

  • A man was awarded $450,000 by the court after he was given a surprise birthday party at work.
  • The man claims that the party triggered his panic attack.
  • His company fired him shortly after.

A Kentucky man was paid $450,000 after his coworkers gave him a birthday party at work against his will.

In August 2019, 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 unwanted 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.

“Managers started giving him a hard time for his response to the birthday celebrations,” Tony Bucher, Berling’s attorney, told local TV news outlet WKRC. “They actually accused him of stealing his co-workers’ joy.”

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 tried to recover for an hour.

The next day, firm executives met with Berling to discuss his behavior. This triggered a second panic episode.

Berling was sacked from Gravity Diagnostics less than a week later, with employers saying they were “worried about him being angry and possibly becoming 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.

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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 techniques to calm himself down,” and that there was no risk of his turning violent.

A 12-person panel unanimously granted Berling a $450,000 verdict against the corporation 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 anguish, embarrassment, humiliation, mortification, and loss of self-esteem.” 

The ruling was “improper,” according to Gravity Diagnostics, which said it would appeal if needed.

A company spokesperson also argued that the matter should never have gone to trial in the first place since Berling failed to declare that he had a condition (anxiety) and engaged in threatening behavior against a female supervisor following the birthday celebration.

Gravity Diagnostics also emphasized their “commitment to zero tolerance for violence in the workplace”, and said that “employers are entitled to and indeed should take prompt action… in this era of workplace violence.”

Source: New York Post

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9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. 2004done

    April 20, 2022 at 7:27 am

    Did other tech-employees get birthday parties, or was he surprised to be singled out after 2-3 years? If he had gone postal, the lawsuits would have been much more. I’ll wish the company well, to appeal seems proper, but foolish

  2. glenn398

    April 20, 2022 at 11:52 am

    He gave them fair warning before the had the party and they totally ignored it. So good for him on his winning the lawsuit, they deserved to loose.

    • Steve

      September 13, 2022 at 7:28 am

      You are as big a moron as he is.

      • gyr.amat

        September 13, 2022 at 5:22 pm

        and you are a raving douchebag…..

    • Old Man

      March 3, 2023 at 9:02 am

      You’ve gotta be an attorney.

  3. JAMES LYMAN WAREHAM

    June 7, 2022 at 10:24 am

    This use of the legal system is improper and very costly to America as a whole. Anxiety disorder is a serious issue and should be respected and treated as such. However, the misuse of our courts for this type of unique circumstance is wrong. We need arbitration and/or other alternate systems for this. How much of the “prize” did the attorney take?

  4. Steve

    September 13, 2022 at 7:26 am

    “His company fired him shortly after.”

    Karma.

  5. Babsan

    September 13, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    Man do we live in strange society nowadays

  6. Old Man

    March 3, 2023 at 9:04 am

    “His company fired him shortly after.”
    After ‘stealing’ half a million dollars from the company, he probably couldn’t care less.

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Crime

10-Year-Old Boy Drives Stolen SUV on Highway to Meet Mom [Video]

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In a Nutshell:

  • A 10-year-old boy in Michigan stole a 2017 Buick Encore in an attempt to drive to his mother in Detroit, leading to a brief interstate chase that was stopped with the help of OnStar, a vehicle security service.
  • The young driver, who is less than 5 feet tall, evaded police attempts to pull him over, and drove erratically across multiple lanes before the vehicle was disabled by OnStar.
  • After exiting the car, the boy tried to run but was eventually apprehended and taken to the Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center.

Cue the “Baby Driver” jokes, folks.

It appears we have a junior speed demon on our hands, one who is all revved up and ready for a new type of playdate.

A 10-year-old Michigan lad decided that stealing a car was the best way to meet up with his mom, sparking a highway chase that had more twists than a Hollywood action flick.

On the fateful day of May 27th, our mini motorist, measuring in at less than 5 feet tall, nicked a 2017 Buick Encore from Buena Vista, a township just about 35 miles north of Flint, according to a series of tweets from Michigan State Police.

His destination?

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His mother, waiting some 100 miles away in Detroit.

Apparently, the allure of the family reunion was stronger than a potentially unattended Xbox.

Following a call from OnStar, the high-tech babysitter hidden within the Buick, Saginaw County Central Dispatch was tipped off that the Buick was zipping southbound on Interstate 75.

When troopers located the vehicle near the Birch Run exit and tried to pull it over, our little driver proved he wasn’t ready for nap time, refusing to hit the brakes.

Thanks to OnStar’s ingenuity, the authorities managed to disable the SUV, and what followed would have been perfect for a high-octane Pixar movie.

Witnesses reportedly saw the silver SUV swerving across three lanes, wobbling onto the shoulder, and kissing a guardrail hello before the police, with their sirens wailing, caught up.

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But our pint-sized protagonist didn’t go quietly into that good night.

The boy bolted from the car before finally being caught, thus ending his daring adventure on a less than victorious note.

And where does a would-be underage wheelman wind up after such escapades?

The Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the police.

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Let’s just hope he doesn’t get any ideas about hot-wiring any more cars in the meantime.

For now, we’ll chalk this up as one of the strangest episodes of “Kids Say (and Do) the Darndest Things” we’ve ever heard of.


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U.S.

Man Sues Girlfriend Over Family Heirloom

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In a Nutshell:

  • A man from Illinois, known as John, is suing his ex-girlfriend after she sold his family’s prized 1972 Ford F100 pickup truck to a junkyard in an act of revenge following a disagreement.
  • After learning about the incident, John instantly broke up with her, filed a police report, and managed to retrieve his truck from the junkyard. The truck was sold for $400, significantly less than its estimated worth of $9,500.
  • Jasmin Hughes, an attorney specializing in administrative law and consumer protection, explained that John’s ex-girlfriend could face serious legal consequences, as she committed the tort of conversion by knowingly depriving John of his property. John could potentially recover damages including loss of wages and the cost to repair any damage to the truck.

A furious man named John from Illinois is literally taking his ex-girlfriend to the cleaners (or should we say the junkyard) for selling his family’s prized pickup truck to a scrapyard.

According to him, this wasn’t just a road rage incident, but a premeditated attempt to “hurt” him after an argument over their pet cats.

Yes, ladies and gents, we’re dealing with a cat-astrophic breakup here.

You see, this wasn’t just any old pickup truck.

This was a 1972 Ford F100, handed down through his family and kept in pristine condition.

John’s tale of car woe first appeared in a Reddit post titled “My girlfriend sold my car because of a petty argument. I am now suing her,” where he laid out the gritty details of the whole fiasco.

He recalls coming home from the bar one night to find the truck missing and his girlfriend confessing to her auto-atrocity.

The offending girlfriend had sold the truck to a junkyard for a measly 400 dollars, a far cry from its estimated worth of $9,500.

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“When I got back home from the bar, I noticed the pickup wasn’t there. I asked her and she told me what she did. I instantly packed up my things, my cat, told her we were done and left,” John explained.

John, like many of us would, quickly broke up with her and has not spoken to her since.

He subsequently filed a police report, tracked down the truck at a local junkyard, and is now ready to gear up for legal action.

Jasmin Hughes, an attorney specializing in administrative law and consumer protection, clarified to Newsweek that John’s ex could be in some serious trouble.

“When someone knowingly takes property with the intention of depriving the owner, they have committed the tort of conversion,” she explained.

Even though the truck was returned, John may still be entitled to damages, potentially covering any loss of wages due to the incident, along with compensation for the damage to the truck, which now sports some unwanted scratch art.

Since this gasoline-infused saga hit Reddit, the post has garnered over 8,800 votes and hundreds of supportive comments cheering John on.

Moral of the story: don’t mess with a man, his cats, or his 1972 Ford F100, especially if you’re not ready for the legal road trip that could follow.

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Business

For Sale: High School Listed as Single-Family Home in Oklahoma

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In a Nutshell:

  • An old high school in Burbank, Oklahoma, originally built in 1924, is listed for sale as a single-family home for a remarkably low price of $60,000.
  • The 17,408-square-foot property boasts five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and even features an indoor basketball court, preserving its athletic heritage.
  • Prospective buyers have the opportunity to unleash their imagination and transform this historic building into their dream home or explore its potential as a unique commercial space.

In the realm of unusual real estate listings, a peculiar gem has emerged in the form of an old high school in Burbank, Oklahoma.

This historic 17,408-square-foot building, originally known as Burbank High School, has hit the market as a single-family home, listed for the surprisingly modest price of $60,000.

If you’ve ever dreamt of living in a quirky space with a rich history, this might just be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

Constructed way back in 1924, this former educational institution has since transformed into a potentially unconventional living space.

The listing on Zillow proudly boasts of the property’s five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and, most intriguingly, an indoor basketball court.

Yes, you read that right—an indoor basketball court!

It seems the spirit of athleticism has lingered long after the school’s closure in 1968.

According to the real estate listing, the old high school presents a myriad of possibilities for its future owners.

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“There is plenty of opportunity to make this property your own,” the listing gushes.

“The large lot size and open floor plan provide endless opportunities. With some imagination, this could be the perfect home for you.”

Imagine the creativity that could be unleashed within those spacious walls—a home theater, an artist’s studio, or perhaps even an eccentric museum of oddities.

Not limited to residential use, the realty firm behind the listing suggests that the versatile structure could easily be converted into a commercial space.

So, for those entrepreneurs out there seeking a distinctive building to house their business, this peculiar property might just be the answer to your offbeat aspirations.

Situated at 450 McCorkle Ave. in Burbank, OK, this extraordinary residence has been on the market since May 19, beckoning curious buyers to explore its unconventional charm.

The listing emphasizes that the property remains active on multiple listing services, ensuring its continued presence in the real estate spotlight.

If you’re looking for a conversation starter or a home that breaks the mold, this old high school turned single-family home is a rare find.

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With its intriguing history, spacious rooms, and the potential for imaginative transformations, it holds the promise of a truly one-of-a-kind living experience.

So, if you’re in the market for a dash of quirkiness blended with an affordable price tag, this Oklahoma oddity might just be your dream come true.


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