Every year, the Earth makes a full trip around the sun. And in most cultures, we celebrate this annual trip on our birthdays, with our friends congratulating us on another successful orbit of that big ball of fire in the sky. Sometimes we plan our birthday parties ourselves, sometimes we leave that task to those friends, and sometimes -- well, sometimes friends take matters into their own hands, preparing a celebration for us even if we don’t want one. In extreme cases, they may not even tell us about the party until we’ve arrived on the site -- a “surprise party.”  Some people love surprise parties, some people loathe them -- and some people sue.

It’s not as ridiculous as you think.

In 2018, a Kentucky man named Kevin Berling started a new job at Gravity Diagnostics, a medical testing company that would, a few years later, be a notable provider of Covid-19 tests. Berling, though, wouldn't be employed there by the time the pandemic hit -- his tenure at the company lasted only about ten months. The reason for his dismissal? He didn't attend his own office birthday party, and then showed signs of what appeared to be antisocial behavior afterward. But Berling wasn't just shy or a curmudgeon -- he suffered from debilitating panic attacks. The New York Times explains:

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,” [Berling's lawyer] said. [This, according to the BBC, "prompted a second panic attack, after which the company sent him home" for the remainder of the day and the day after.] He was fired three days [after the meeting] in an email that suggested that Mr. Berling posed a threat to his co-workers’ safety.