The fire after the explosion of a Colonial Pipeline in Helena, Alabama, (Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP)

The widow of a worker killed in a 2016 pipeline explosion has filed a wrongful death lawsuit accusing Colonial Pipeline Co. of negligence.

Lawyers for Beverly Kay Willingham filed the lawsuit Thursday in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Anthony Lee Willingham died in the 2016 blast near Helena. He was part of a crew working to repair an earlier leak when excavation equipment hit the pipeline and caused the explosion.

The lawsuit contends Colonial Pipeline did not take required precautions during the work, and a Colonial supervisor was not on site during the excavation.

Colonial Pipeline spokesman Steve Baker said the company disputes the accusation in the lawsuit.

The Gwinnett suit follows one filed in Fulton County State Court in July concerning the same incident. That complaint was brought by the family of Bill Whatley, who also died as a result of the accident, and by Hugh Delaughder Jr., who was injured along with four other workers.

A Colonial spokesman last month provided a statement saying the company “continues to extend its sympathy to the family of Mr. Whatley for their loss. Colonial has received the lawsuit and looks forward to addressing the issues raised. At this time the company will have no further comment on the lawsuit.”

A lawyer for co-defendant Superior Land Designs, Cheryl Shaw with Freeman Mathis & Gary, said they had just been served and were reviewing the complaint.

As detailed in the complaint and contemporaneous media coverage, Colonial owns the largest refined petroleum pipeline system in the United States. It runs from Texas to New Jersey and carries more than a million gallons a day of refined petroleum products.

Colonial has faced continuing fallout from the accidents, which shut down part of the pipeline for several days and spurred a spike in gasoline prices. Last year, a group of landowners near the spill site sued Colonial for damage to their property. In March, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that Colonial had reached a $3.3 million settlement with the state to resolve environmental claims related to the spill.