Ananova:

A man who sued his employer and co-workers after being spanked with a wooden club on his birthday has lost a court case in Minnesota.

A judge ruled neither Jeremy Meinstma's co-workers nor his employer - Loram Maintenance of Way Inc - intended to hurt him. He said it's a workers' compensation case.

Meinstma's attorney, Marcia Rowland, said the decision was "shocking" and said she plans to appeal, says the Pioneer Press.

Rowland said Meinstma was beaten so badly in the 2001 incident, that he was spitting up blood and had to be treated in hospital. His injuries forced him to take a week off from work.

She said co-workers threw Meinstma onto the ground and repeatedly hit him with a two-by-four made to look like a baseball bat. The club had holes in it, she said, to cut down wind resistance.

The judge in the case said the workplace tradition of spanking fellow union employees with a two-by-four was "childish, unnecessary, and ultimately injurious behaviour."

Joe Hammell, attorney for the company deemed the ruling good. He called the case "unusual" and claimed that Loram's managers didn't know about the tradition. The company has since banned the spankings and flushed out the culprits.