The Tragedy at the Lunch Shed
A rock from a construction blast kills a worker on his midday break, leading to a lawsuit against the contractor.
The accidental death of Simon Cosgrove last year from the effects of a blast at a railroad construction camp has resulted in a suit brought by his father and mother, Simon and Mary Cosgrove, to recover damages from A. C. McLean, the contractor for whom the son was working. The plaintiffs allege that while their son, with other laborers, was seated under a dinner shed eating his midday lunch, a stone from a blast fired 700 or 800 feet away came crashing through the roof and killed young Cosgrove. It is claimed that the accident was the result of negligence on the part of the defendant's agents in handling the blast. The parents are old and infirm and were totally dependent on their son for support. They ask $10,000 damages.
“While their son, with other laborers, was seated under a dinner shed eating his midday lunch, a stone from a blast fired 700 or 800 feet away came crashing through the roof.”
Workplace safety litigation was in its infancy during the 1890s. The struggle for a family to hold a powerful contractor accountable for gross negligence remains a central tension in industrial labor history.
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