LOS ALAMITOS : Officer’s Widow Seeks Compensation

The widow of a Los Alamitos police commander who died four months ago of a brain aneurysm has filed for state workers’ compensation and retirement benefits, contending her late husband’s death was work-related.

Orville Lewis’ March 7 death was caused by high blood pressure that resulted from his high-stress job as a police officer, his widow, Kathy, contends. Orville Lewis, who was 47 when he died, worked for the Los Alamitos Police Department for 28 years, beginning as an Explorer Scout, according to city officials.

His widow has filed for both workers’ compensation benefits and death benefits through the state Public Employee Retirement System, according to her attorney, Robert Sherwin.

If the workers’ compensation appeals board agrees with Lewis, she stands to receive as much as $95,000 in workers’ compensation money and 50% of her late husband’s salary for life, or until she remarries, according to Sherwin.

Orville Lewis did not suffer from sustained hypertension, but his medical records show he had several high blood pressure readings, according to Sherwin. The attorney said he has successfully won state benefits in about a dozen cases involving strokes and cerebral hemorrhages.

Since the city also has been named as a responsible party in the claim, its officials are consulting legal and medical experts to determine if Orville Lewis’ death was triggered by his job, Assistant City Manager Gerard Goedhart said.

“This is a little unusual of a claim for us,” Goedhart said. “We certainly don’t take any offense from it. We’re going to deal very fairly with Kathy (Lewis) and be very fair with the city.”