In a real life legal storyline of Ally McBeal-esque proportions, a woman with Type 1 diabetes has been awarded £2,000 (AUD $3,576) in damages after security staff at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert confiscated her fizzy drink.
The dark day in now 20-year-old Kayla Hanna’s life unfolded at the Chili’s gig in Belfast back in 2016, when seccas seized her bottle of Lucozade.
In court, Hanna accused the staff — employed by security company Eventsec Ltd — of snatching the bev, which she carried to help regulate her blood sugar levels.
“I told [the security guard] of my condition and showed her the tattoos on my wrist which indicate I have diabetes,” she said (via BBC).
“She said that ‘anyone could have that’ so I also showed her my insulin pack and the meter used to check my levels.
“She consulted with another guard and they insisted that they had a strict policy and they would not allow me to bring the drink inside,” she continued, adding that she was then “very anxious and upset” throughout the gig.
The judge called it an act of discrimination under the Irish Disability Discrimination Act 1995, ruling that Eventsec Ltd had failed to provide a reasonable adjustment to its policy of not allowing liquids to be brought into the concert.
“I really hope that now this issue has been brought to light it won’t happen again to me or other people who live with diabetes,” Hanna said.
You could say… she don’t ever want anyone to feel like she did that day.
