By Alex Wood

May 10, 2000

Judith Dobrich is seeking to accomplish more through her lawsuit against Electric Boat than simply to win redress for the sexual harassment she contends she suffered during her 19 months as a laborer at the company's Windsor nuclear installation.

It became clear from testimony in Dobrich's lawsuit against EB on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Waterbury that she views the lawsuit as part of a personal mission to fight what she perceives to be EB's toleration of workplace violence.

It also became apparent that a key issue in the case will be whether Dobrich has rational reasons for her belief that EB fosters a dangerous work environment - or whether she has irrationally built that belief up in her mind, perhaps as a result of other problems in her life.

Dobrich, who is now 56, says she experienced numerous incidents of sexual harassment when she worked at EB, a division of General Dynamics Corp., from June 1994 to January 1996.

One of the most serious incidents she claims is that a foreman kicked a chair at her, causing an injury to her right wrist that required surgery and left her with a permanent impairment of motion. The foreman has denied the claim.

In cross-examining witnesses Tuesday, the second day of trial in Dobrich's lawsuit, EB lawyer Neal McNamara of Providence said Dobrich had said in a signed statement that she hurt her wrist when she tried to prevent the chair from falling on her.

But Stephen Manos, a close friend of Dobrich's who worked with her at EB, testified that she told him immediately after the incident that the foreman had kicked the chair into her. Manos said Dobrich made this statement when he encountered her outside a building at EB, bent over and clutching her wrist in pain.

Manos said another worker who was with him advised Dobrich not to say anything about the incident because she would get the foreman in trouble. But Manos said he told Dobrich to go to the nurse and report the incident immediately.

Manos testified that he and Dobrich had a brief romantic relationship when they first met in 1988. Although they broke off plans to marry, Dobrich has continued to live in Manos' Glastonbury home, and she has depended on him financially while she was out of work in recent years.

A psychiatrist and a psychologist who have treated Dobrich since she was laid off by EB both testified that she was significantly affected by the December 1998 death of a worker at EB's Groton shipyard who had been punched by a co-worker. The worker, John W. Cahoon, 63, died of head injuries that authorities believe he suffered as a result of the punch.

The psychologist, Pamela J. Deiter of Glastonbury, said Dobrich felt "extraordinarily responsible" for Cahoon's death. Deiter explained that Dobrich thought the death might have been avoided if she had been "more assertive, more articulate, and smarter" in complaining about her harassment at EB.

Deiter compared Dobrich's feelings to the "survivor's guilt" often experienced by soldiers and others who have lived through harrowing experiences in which others died.

At one point, Deiter said, Dobrich wanted to bring her lawyer with her to a therapy session because she wanted help in explaining why she had rejected a settlement offer. Deiter said Dobrich wanted her to explain that the case was a matter of "justice and ethics" for her. The psychologist said she declined to have such a meeting.

But McNamara suggested in cross-examining Deiter that Dobrich may have an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

The company's lawyer also suggested in questioning witnesses that Dobrich has significant stresses in her life other than her experiences working at EB - including her divorce from a husband who she says sometimes slapped her, the failure of her romantic relationship with Manos, and her financial dependence on Manos.

McNamara asked Deiter whether it is possible that Dobrich has made the lawsuit against EB "her purpose for living" due to the lack of purpose in her life caused by other problems.

"It's possible, but it is not my opinion," the psychologist replied."