Officer Kenneth Shaw's Wife Denied Accidental Death Benefits (VIDEO)

To hear Maura Shaw tell it, her husband died in the line of duty.

But, as MyFOX Boston reports, Kenneth Shaw's widow has been repeatedly denied accidental death benefits because she can't prove exactly how her husband died.

Shaw worked in the Boston Police Department's identification unit where his wife and two doctors believe he contracted hepatitis C while working in gruesome crime scenes. However, no benefits have been awarded 13 years after Shaw died from the disease.

"It's like a slap in the face. He loved his job. He loved doing what he did," Maura Shaw told MyFOX Boston.

Joseph Connarton, a spokesperson for the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, told The Huffington Post that Shaw's situation was an "unfortunate case," but said current laws prevent the commission from awarding benefits.

"It is sadly the fact that Massachusetts law requires a specific criteria to be met prior to either accidental disability or accidental death benefits being granted," Connarton wrote in an email. "In the case the statutory requirements just were not met by either the Boston Retirement Board or the Boston Police Dept."

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