Family of contractor killed in oil well blowout sues energy company

The family of a contractor killed in an oil well blowout in Burleson County is suing the owner of the well.

Linda Milanovich is named as the plaintiff in a temporary restraining order and an injunction against Chesapeake Operating, L.L.C. and Chesapeake Energy. The court documents said that Milanovich's son, Wendell Beddingfield, was killed when an oil well blew out on Jan. 29.

Milanovich's attorney, Eric Allen, of Zehl and Associates PC, said that Beddingfield was the first contractor killed after the blowout. A second contractor died from their injuries Thursday night. Two other workers are still recovering from their injuries.

Allen said the reason for filing the documents is to preserve evidence at the scene so they can perform their own investigation.

“We need to be able to have experts take a look at what happened, evaluate any negligence and grossly negligent factors, and in order to do so, it is imperative at the start of a case to preserve the evidence. And that is what this filing seeks to accomplish," said Allen.

Allen says it’s important for the family to get involved early in the case in order to seek justice for Beddingfield.

“He has been described as a loving son, a brother and a father, very committed to his family and quite frankly an awesome guy," said Allen. "What we’re looking for here is just to make sure we understand what happened and to the extent possible, to bring justice and some sense of closure to the family."

KBTX is still waiting on the contracting companies to release the names of those involved in this incident. Officials with Burleson County Sheriff's Office say they do not have that information.