$3 Million Awarded in Worker’s Death
The wife and children of a man killed in a 1980 natural gas well explosion in Baldwin Hills have been awarded $3 million in damages, ending a wrongful death suit against Chevron Oil and Champlin Petroleum companies.
Los Angeles Superior Court jurors on Monday found the two oil companies solely negligent in the accident, which took the life of Dean Lewis, 39, on Jan. 25, 1980. Lewis, a production engineer for Technical Services Co., an independent company, was performing a test on the well head in Ladera Park when a fitting failed and the explosion occurred. Lewis’ employer was absolved of any negligence.
In their suit, Sharon Lewis of El Monte and her daughters, Tammy and Laura, who were 13 and 9 years old, respectively, when their father was killed, claimed that the well head fitting was old, worn out and had never been previously tested.
Attorney Alvin Cassidy, representing the oil companies, said he will move for a new trial.
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