At the end of May 1893, Mrs Sarah McGlynn or Higgins brought an action against William Baird & Co (Coalmasters).
Sarah lived at McAlpine’s Buildings on Glasgow Road, Blantyre and was suing the mining company for the untimely death of her husband, who had been employed by them as a miner.
The husband had died on 16th September by a fall from a portion of the roof in the Craighead Colliery. Sarah brought the action on the belief that the coal masters had not taken enough safety precautions to protect their workers, putting them unnecessarily at risk.
She sought £500, but as the proceedings played out, she was eventually offered and accepted £140, a sum of around £30,000 in today’s money.
