A father-of-two died when a window plunged 300ft from a luxury riverside penthouse in Vauxhall, London, leading to fines totalling £1.3m for two companies. Mick Ferris, 53, was killed on October 2, 2018, when the 130kg window pane fell 26 storeys from The Corniche development on Albert Embankment.
Property developer St James Group Ltd was fined £1 million, while specialist façade contractor Lindner Prater received a £300,000 penalty at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday. Mr Ferris, a driver for Clarkes of London, was returning to his coach when the window—measuring roughly 85cm wide and 190cm tall—fell at 10.40am.
Court hears of 'foreseeable risks'
St James and Lindner Prater were convicted of disregarding "foreseeable risks". Luxury architecture firm Foster + Partners and engineering consultants Wintech Ltd were cleared of the same charge. All four companies had stood trial for "failing to discharge a duty" under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The trial heard that a window panel had fallen from the same development in August 2017, yet the design was not significantly modified as a result. Rachel, Mr Ferris's widow, described his death as "so sudden" and "out of the blue", stating it "could have been prevented".
Widow's statement read in court
In a statement read by the prosecution, Ms Ferris said: "If somebody had done something differently – anything – it would have changed our lives. We wouldn't be in this position. I know it wasn't just one person, but one person could have changed this. One person could have asked 'can't we do this better?'. What those companies did killed my husband."
She described her husband as a "great dad and grandad", who "loved driving coaches", having followed in his father's footsteps. She revealed that 400 people attended his funeral, which featured a coach bearing his name, adding "he is missed by so many it was unbelievable". Ms Ferris added: "Mick was just minding his own business. One minute there, one minute gone. The thought this could have happened to anybody is always with me. It could have been a child."
Judge's findings and fines
Jurors were told the window design in The Corniche was "not safe" because it opened outwards and was secured by a single metal "restrictor", which could be dislodged by wind. Mr Justice Boyle stated he was not sentencing the firms on the basis the design itself was unsafe, as such designs were "common within the industry" and there was no Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance prohibiting their use. He noted that the "restrictor, if present and connected, would have prevented detachment".
Judge Boyle expressed that St James should have been more "robust" in "ensuring the critical safety component was present and engaged", while Lindner Prater "should have done more to complete and document the risk assessment process". In addition to the fines, both companies were ordered to pay costs of £125,000 each.
HSE principal inspector James Goldfinch described Mr Ferris as a "hardworking man just going about his day". Speaking outside court, he said: "He lost his life due to the failings of two leading companies in their field. The fact lessons had not been learnt from a near miss the year before makes what happened on that day all the more galling. For a window to fall once was quite extraordinary, for it to fall again was simply criminal. The reality is that anybody could have been walking past the building that day. Nobody's life should be put in danger due to the clear failings of others."
A spokesperson for St James said: "The death of Mick Ferris in 2018 was tragic. Our thoughts remain with his family and friends. We acknowledge the court's sentencing decision and the fine imposed. Safety is of fundamental importance to St James, and remains our highest priority."
Foster + Partners, responsible for the initial designs of The Corniche, maintained that its responsibilities did not extend to technical aspects once construction was under way. St James took on the role of "principle designer" in 2015, carrying a "duty to co-ordinate matters in relation to health and safety", the court heard.
Speaking for the HSE, Gordon Menzies told the court there had been a "lack of proper risk assessment". In mitigation for St James, Prashant Popat KC described it as a "horrific tragedy and preventable incident", stating Mr Ferris's death "should not have happened". He said the company was "deeply remorseful and regretful", with the incident being "taken incredibly seriously by the company".
Mr Popat contended that the firm's failing was "secondly to Lindner's failure" and "occurred even though St James did carry out a considerable amount of monitoring activity on this site". Speaking in mitigation for Lindner Prater, James Leonard KC stressed the incident "should not have happened", arguing the "fatal accident was almost certainly a consequence of a failure of reinstatement" by a subcontractor the firm had brought in. He said there was "no way of knowing when this error was made", making it impossible to "point to a failure of monitoring or inspection by either of these two defendants".
