A father-of-two was crushed to death by a window that fell 300ft from a luxury riverside penthouse in London, a court has heard. Mick Ferris, 53, was killed on October 2, 2018, when a window pane plummeted 26 storeys from The Corniche, an upmarket development in Vauxhall.
Property developer St James Group Ltd was fined £1 million, and specialist façade contractor Lindner Prater was fined £300,000 at a sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday. Mr Ferris, a driver for Clarkes of London, was returning to his coach when the window—weighing 130kg and measuring roughly 85cm wide and 190cm tall—fell at 10.40am.
Fatal fall from penthouse
The Corniche, on the River Thames's Albert Embankment, boasts "panoramic views" over the Houses of Parliament. Luxury flats in the building, complete with a gym, pool and spa, have been advertised for sale at £3 million.
St James and Lindner Prater were convicted of ignoring "foreseeable risks." Luxury architecture firm Foster + Partners and engineering consultants Wintech Ltd were acquitted of the same charge. All companies had been on trial for "failing to discharge a duty" under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. A window panel had dropped from the same development in August 2017, but the design was not significantly altered as a result, the trial heard.
Widow's statement
Rachel, Mr Ferris's widow, described his death as "so sudden" and "out of the blue," stating it "could have been prevented." In a statement read out in court by the prosecution, she 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."
Ms Ferris said her husband was a "great dad and grandad" and "loved driving coaches," having followed in his own father's footsteps as a professional driver. 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." She 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."
Design and safety failings
Jurors were told the design of the window in The Corniche was "not safe" because it opened outwards and was held in place by a single metal "restrictor," meaning it could be forced off by the wind. Mr Justice Boyle stated he was not sentencing the firms on the basis the design itself was unsafe as they were "common within the industry" and there was no Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance prohibiting their use. He further stated that the "restrictor, if present and connected, would have prevented detachment."
Judge Boyle said St James should have been more "robust" in "ensuring the critical safety component was present and engaged." He also said Lindner Prater "should have done more to complete and document the risk assessment process." On top of the fines, Judge Boyle instructed both companies to cover costs of £125,000 each.
HSE reaction and company responses
HSE principal inspector James Goldfinch described Mr Ferris as a "hardworking man just going about his day." Speaking outside the courtroom, he added: "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 commented: "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 its responsibilities didn't extend to the technical elements of the design once construction was underway. St James assumed the role of "principle designer" in 2015, meaning it bore a "duty to co-ordinate matters in relation to health and safety," the court was told. Gordon Menzies, speaking for the HSE, informed 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 argued the firm's shortcoming was "secondly to Lindner's failure" and "occurred even though St James did carry out a considerable amount of monitoring activity on this site." For Lindner Prater, James Leonard KC insisted the incident "should not have happened," claiming the "fatal accident was almost certainly a consequence of a failure of reinstatement" by a subcontractor. He said there was "no way of knowing when this error was made," meaning it wasn't possible to "point to a failure of monitoring or inspection by either of these two defendants."
