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Constantino Decisionagainst Yong Li
Constantino Decisionagainst Yong Li
Bd # 04286804
Yong Li Employee
Raytheon Company Employer
Raytheon Company Insurer
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Li, Yong
Bd # 04286804
PROCEDURAL MATTERS
The claim in this matter was not accepted and it came on for conference
under §10A of the Act on September 29, 2005. An Order filed on October 7,
2005 denied payment on the employee’s claim. The employee’s appeal was
B. EMPLOYEE CLAIM
and continuing.
Causal Relationship;
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Section 29;
Section 46A.
D. IMPARTIAL/MEDICAL REPORT
report of Dr. Bennett Aspel and the complexity of the medical issues involved.
F. STIPULATIONS
G. MOTIONS
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H. ISSUES IN CONTROVERSY
1. Liability
2. Causation
3. Disability
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Li, Yong
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JUDGES DECISION
After hearing the testimony and examining the exhibits, I find as follows:
1. THE EMPLOYEE
Yong Li, is forty-three years of age. She is a native of China. Ms. Li was
Master’s Degree in Geophysics. After receiving her degrees in China, Ms. Li and
her husband immigrated to England where they lived for seven years. In England,
Ms. Li and her husband were recruited by Raytheon Corporation to work in the
benefits.
Yong Li alleges that she sustained an emotional disability and personal injury
that arose out of and in the course of her employment at Raytheon Company on or
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3. MEDICAL TREATMENT
Yong Li’s initial treatment was on September 14, 2004 with a psychiatrist,
Yiangyang Li. Since that date, Yong Li has been treating with Dr. Yiangyang Li
on a regular basis about every two weeks. Dr. Yianyang Li has treated Ms. Yong
Zoloft, Abilify and Prozac. In March, 2006, Ms. Li was hospitalized two days in
Natick Hospital and twelve days in Marlborough Hospital. In July, 2006 Ms. Li
February 18, 2006. Dr. Aspel indicates that Yong Li’s history at Raytheon is
confusing, perhaps due to the language barrier. Dr. Aspel made a diagnosis of major
depressive episode with psychotic features. Dr. Aspel declares that Ms. Li is totally
disabled at the time of the impartial examination. He declares that her focus problems
“Causal Connection;
Ms. Li has no prior history before working at Raytheon. For unclear reasons,
she felt not respected at work. Lack of providing a good translator to help her with
her management difficulties clearly added to her stress and the possibility of
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condition but her assignment of ten months to Virginia and biologic factors also play
a part.”
“blowing things out of proportion” when upset or dissatisfied. Her co-workers have
noted that she has s ‘strong personality,’ and is ‘opinionated.’ When dissatisfied or
upset, Ms. Li has not addressed her concerns with supervisors directly, and instead
has tried to enlist the aid of perceived allies, which has had the effect of creating a
divisive situation within the team. Ms. Li has also had some difficulty expressing
herself (and understanding others) in English, a second language for her, and
concerns were raised that some of her interpersonal problems might be exacerbated
Dr. Reade states that :”Ms. Li’s mood was anxious and her affect was intense
and constricted. Her thought was concrete and mostly logical, except when discussing
her beliefs regarding Jen Lewis and various supervisors. At those times, Ms. Li had a
fixed, paranoid quality to her thinking. She repeatedly herself as a victim, even when
confronted with her inflammatory emails and asked about the alarm she had
engendered in others. Ms. Li denied any suicidal or homicidal ideation. She reported
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mania. Cognitively, Ms. Li was alert and oriented. Her insight was poor and her
from an untreated mental illness and/or a severe personality disorder. Because of her
guardedness in the interview, her lack of insight, and her refusal to let me speak to her
husband independently, it is difficult to determine more precisely what is the basis for
Given her fixed belief that various supervisors are actively plotting against her
life, and that Jen Lewis can “influence” others to murder her, Ms. Li appears to be
mixed personality disorder with paranoid features. (It also appears that Ms. Li’s many
English.) It is also possible that Ms. Li suffers from an acute mental illness that is
presence of medical conditions. She also denied the presence of any other stressors in
her life.
Ms. Li is entirely lacking in insight regarding her own behavior or its effects
on others. She is unyielding in her conviction that she had been repeatedly singled out
for persecution by “pretty” women at Raytheon, and that she has been in mortal
danger during her tenure at Raytheon. She views her angry and threatening emails as
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Michael Annunziata, M.D.
self-insurer in August 2005 and then again in January 31, 2007. Dr. Annunziata, in his
report of February 2007, mentions that Yong Li spends much of her time pondering,
preparing documents and studying her various cases against Raytheon. Dr. Annunziata
asserts that:
“It is immediately evident that Mrs. Li intensely involved in her attempt to obtain
justice for perceived mistreatment when she worked for Raytheon Company. Mrs. Li is
involved with various aspects of the litigation on a daily basis. She told me that she had
dealt with notices of attorney appearances and studied various documents over the week,
prior to this evaluation. She remains adamant in her assertion that she was the victim of
discrimination and was traumatized by the situation at Raytheon. She frequently referes
Dr. Annunziata declares that Yong Li: “Was oriented to time, place and person.
Mood was described as sad and hopeless. She said that she cries often but not daily. She
also reports feeling angry and overwhelmed, at times. Affect was appropriate and not
labile. There was no evidence of visual or auditory hallucinations. Ideas regarding being
mistreated and having her life threatened at Raytheon are persistent. The intensity of her
belief in these ideas remains strong. Intellectual functioning is not impaired. Memory is
intact, with respect to immediate recall recent memory and remove memory. Standard
testing of concentration and of attention span was within normal limits. The
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indicative of a defect in judgment, due to a thought disorder. This documented in
Dr. Annunziata reports that, “In my opinion, based on the history, psychiatric
examinations and review of the medical records, that Mrs. Yong Li remains disable for
work, due to a psychiatric disorder. The most likely diagnosis is Major Depressive
Delusional Disorder must also be considered, particularly in view of the persistent and
posttraumatic stress disorder, since there is no event which rises to the level required for
the diagnosis, and since the symptoms are not consistent with the diagnosis. With respect
to the cause of the psychiatric disorder and disability, there is no substantial evidence to
indicate that conditions of Mrs. Li’s job with Raytheon Company were the predominant
contributing cause. Although depressive disorders are usually quite treatable, the length
of Mrs. Li’s disorder and disability is a poor prognostic sign. Her mental state appears
Doctor Cutler is a psychiatrist who evaluated Ms. Li on March 20, 2007. Doctor
Cutler states that Ms. Li, “had a very bad experience on 8/3/04 with a man from the
Employee Assistance Program whom she was asked to see by the Human Relations
Department. She stated she was fearful for her life. She stated that her problems with
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Doctor Cutler mentions that Ms. Li, “has seen Dr. Xian Gyuang Li every
month or so for medication management and sees Dr. Xing every other week to talk.
The patient remains very fearful, is unable to concentrate very well, spends her days
Doctor Cutler also remarks that “Ms. Li never saw a psychiatrist in China, and
Doctor Cutler reports that Ms. Li required her husband to be present at her
evaluation as Ms. Li felt unsafe with him, and he states, “Her mood and affect were
bland and constricted. She was not loosely associating, not hallucinating, exhibited no
thought disorder, and no pressured speech. She exhibited a great deal of paranoid
ideation, referential thinking, and delusional thinking. She states she has had suicidal
Diagnoses:
It is the medical opinion of Doctor Cutler that, “The patient continues to have
with her case against Raytheon which do not allow her to function in any job for
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Given that the patient had no previous psychiatric history and denied ever
seeing a psychiatrist or mental health professional prior to the episode of 8/3/04 with
the Employee Assistance Program, I can state that the predominant contributing cause
Again, a medical end result has not yet been reached. The patient will require
In 2003, Ms. Li was sent by Raytheon for ten months at a research center in
Langley, Virginia.
At the time of this haring, Ms. Li was receiving long-term disability benefits
Ms. Li never had treatment related to stress or any other psychiatric treatment
Ms. Li never had psychiatric problems growing up in China; she left China at
Ms. Li never had psychiatric problems while living and working in England.
Ms. Li and her husband had no marital problems prior to the meeting of
August 3, 2004.
Ms. Li states that she lives now to seek justice, with respect to her treatment at
Raytheon.
Ms. Li and Belinda Gunn, a coworker, and Jen Lewis had a disagreement
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Li, Yong
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Ms. Li felt offended at a meeting that was held in July 2001 because her
supervisor, Jen Lewis, criticized Ms. Li for certain e-mails she sent out to coworkers.
complaint at the Raytheon human resources department alleging that Jen Lewis
discriminated against her because of her Chinese ethnicity. This was prior to her
working in Virginia.
Raytheon that her supervisor, Jen Lewis, discriminated against her because of her
Chinese ethnicity. She also complained that Gayle, her group leader, discriminated
When Ms. Li returned from Virginia to the Marlboro facility, on occasion, she
and Ms. Lewis would encounter each other in the hallways or footpaths of the
Marlboro facility. If no one was around when this occurred, Ms. Lewis would stare at
Ms. Li.
On account of the staring of Jen Lewis, Ms. Li sent an e-mail to Art Builing in
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Ms. Li thought her life would be in danger because of the staring at her by Jen
Lewis.
Ms. Li felt physically threatened by Jen Lewis because of Jen Lewis’ staring
at her.
The first time Jen Lewis stared at Ms. Li was in January 2004.
As of June 2004, Ms. Li and Jen Lewis worked in the same building, and they
would encounter each other more often, about once every two weeks.
According to Ms. Li, when Jen Lewis stared at her, the impression revealed
When Ms. Lewis stared at Ms. Li in January 2004, Ms. Li was very nervous,
On August 3, 2004, there was a meeting with Ms. Li, Art Builing of the
approximately 30 minutes.
Ms. Li was very upset after the meeting with John Didio, the employment
assistance counselor.
On August 30, 2004, Ms. Li sent an e-mail to the CEO of Raytheon alleging
that at the meeting of August 3, 2004 with John Didio she was the victim of mental
The next day, August 31, 2004, Raytheon placed Ms. Li on administrative
leave and requested that she see a physician, Julie Reade, a psychiatrist.
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Li, Yong
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In July 2004, Ms. Li sent an e-mail to the members of the Raytheon Asian
the word “murder,” as she was afraid that someone would attack her. Ms. Li thought,
in July 2004, when she e-mailed Art Buuling and the Raytheon Asian Pacific
Association, that she was in danger of harm from Jen Lewis, Scott Oglesby, and
“confidentiality” form. This made Ms. Li upset because she thought “confidential”
was dirty.
The meeting of August 3, 2004 was the first time that Ms. Li complained to
management at Raytheon that Jen Lewis was staring; and this was bothering Ms. Li.
Ms. Li sent e-mails at work because she wanted to get Raytheon’s attention.
In late July or early August 2004, people in the human resources determined that Ms.
Li required some type of help and they contacted the Employee Assistance Program
I find that after receiving the e-mail of July 2004 from Ms. Li with the word
“murder,” that Mr. Didio was concerned for the safety of the employees in the
Mr. Buling was concerned in July and August 2004 that there was a serious
allegation made by Ms. Li, and that she may be in some sort of danger.
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At the meeting of August 3, 2004, Mr. Didio asked Ms. Li if she “wanted to harm
someone or to harm herself.” This question made Ms. Li upset and agitated.
Mr. Didio, Ms. Kolenski and Mr. Didio did their best to make Ms. Li aware that
the meeting of August 3, 2004 was for her safety and her help, but she was confused.
I find that Mr. Didio did not intent to harass Ms. Li, nor did he harass Ms. Li.
Ms. Li experiences flashback of the August 3, 2004 meeting with John Didio.
Since the incident of August 3, 2004, Ms. Li has had emotional problems that
affected her marriage, and now she and her husband have separated.
At the end of August 2004, Ms. Li was having flashbacks and suicidal thoughts.
On or about August 31, 2004, Ms. Li contacted the office of Doctor Marie Gomez,
her primary care physician, to set up a medical appointment because she was
Ms. Li states that her paranoia became less and less in November 2005.
Ms. Li sees her psychiatrist, Doctor Xianang Li once every three weeks.
Ms. Li is prescribed Prozac, Lexapro and Respiradol. She only takes the
Ms. Li testified that she does not interact with other people unless they speak
Mandarin Chinese.
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It bothered her husband when Ms. Li would scream and throw objects.
Presently, Ms. Li is functioning, working on appeals with the state and federal
Ms. Li works three to five hours a day at her computer pursuant to the litigation
Ms. Li testified that, “If the company has to cover up the truth, they have to get
rid of me.”
Ms. Li testified that in December 2004 and January 2005, she felt, “as an
In December 2004 and January 2005, Ms. Li was having suicidal thoughts day
and night.
Ms. Li testified that she was concerned that Raytheon was attempting to drive her
Ms. Li has filed claim with the EEOC with respect to her treatment at Raytheon.
Ms. Li filed claim with the MCAD with respect to her treatment at Raytheon.
Ms. Li filed a complaint in the Massachusetts Courts against Ian Mitchell, Art
Raytheon, Ian Mitchell, Art Builiung, Stephanie Kolenski, Scott Oglesby and Irving
Kooris.
Ms. Li filed a claim against John Didio at the licensing board for social workers.
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Ms. Li filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court against Raytheon, Art
Ms. Li has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court alleging discrimination
Ms. Li has filed an appeal of a dismissed U.S. District Court case; that appeal
Ms. Li has filed an appeal of a dismissed State Court case with the
6. LEGAL ANALYSIS
I adopt the medical opinion of Doctor Julie Reade. I also adopt the medical
I do not find that events at Raytheon are the predominant cause of Ms. Li’s
emotional disability. With the exception of the incidents of staring by Jen Lewis, I
find that all the events that occurred at Raytheon relative to Yong Li are bona fide
personnel actions.
demeanor as a witness and judging his veracity as well as taking into account his
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GENERAL FINDINGS
1. LIABILITY
I do not find that the employee sustained a personal injury arising out of and
1. That the claim be, and hereby is, denied and dismissed.
__________________________
WILLIAM CONSTANTINO JR
Administrative Judge
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