Developer St James Group Ltd and specialist contractor Lindner Prater Ltd have been found guilty of failing to discharge their duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, following the death of Mick Ferris in 2018.
Mick Ferris, 53, was killed on October 2, 2018, when a 130kg window pane fell approximately 300 feet from the 25th-floor penthouse of The Corniche, a luxury apartment building on London's Embankment. Ferris, a driver for Clarkes of London, was returning to his coach, parked across the street, when the glass pane fell at 10:40 a.m.
Foster + Partners, the architecture firm responsible for the initial designs of The Corniche, and engineering consultants Wintech Ltd were acquitted of all charges by jurors at Inner London Crown Court after more than 11 hours of deliberation.
During the trial, the court heard that a window pane had previously fallen from the same development in August 2017. The prosecution argued that developers ignored this incident and failed to substantially change the design of the windows. Gordon Menzies, the prosecuting barrister, stated, "It's reasonably practicable for clever people to do a simple thing and design a window that doesn't fall out once every year." He added that construction workers had been instructed "not to open the windows at all," and small written warnings were placed near the windows for residents.
St James Group Ltd had taken on the role of 'principal designer' in 2015, which entailed a duty to coordinate health and safety matters. The court was informed that the final design of the windows at The Corniche was deemed unsafe because they opened outwards and were secured by a single metal 'restrictor,' making them vulnerable to being dislodged by wind. It was only after Ferris's death that the design was revised to use inward-opening windows.
Sentencing for St James Group Ltd and Lindner Prater Ltd is scheduled for September 24.
A spokesperson for St James Group Ltd acknowledged the verdict, stating, "We acknowledge today's verdict and will carefully consider its implications." Foster + Partners expressed gratitude to the jury, and Wintech Ltd commented on the need for continued reflection and learning within the industry to prevent future incidents.