Property developer is fined £1million after window fell 26 storeys from luxury Thames block and killed father-of-two

The widow of a coach driver killed by a window that fell 26 storeys from a luxury building has said the actions of a property developer killed her husband.

Father-of-two Mick Ferris, 53, was returning to his coach parked opposite The Corniche in Vauxhall, when he was hit by the falling window in October 2018.

The 'great dad and grandad' had followed in his father's footsteps to become a coach driver and had more than 400 people attend his funeral. 

His widow Rachel said her husband is 'missed by so many it was unbelievable'.

A trial heard that windows at the building opened outwards to prevent them clashing with the ceiling coffer in some apartments.

The windows were held in place by a single metal restrictor, which the court heard could be pried off by the wind. 

Father-of-two Mick Ferris, 53, was returning to his coach parked opposite The Corniche in Vauxhall, when he was hit by the falling window in October 2018 

Mr Ferris, a father of two who was a driver for Clarkes of London, had been returning to his coach when the window pane, which weighed 130kg, fell 

The luxury building, located on the River Thames's Albert Embankment, features 'panoramic views' over the Houses of Parliament

Police investigate inside of the apartment where the window fell from in 2018

Astonishingly, a window panel had already fallen from the same development a year earlier and the design was not substantially changed afterwards.  

'For a window to fall once was quite extraordinary, for it to fall again was simply criminal,' prosecutor Gordon Menzies told the court.

Property developer St James Group Ltd was fined £1million and specialist facade contractor Lindner Prater was fined £300,000 at a sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday.

Jurors were told the designers should have considered the risk of the outward-opening windows. 

The luxury building, located on the River Thames's Albert Embankment, features 'panoramic views' over the Houses of Parliament.

Luxury flats in the building – containing a gym, pool and spa – have been listed for sale at £3million. 

St James and Lindner Prater were found guilty of ignoring 'foreseeable risks' while luxury architecture firm Foster + Partners and engineering consultants Wintech Ltd were cleared of the same charge.

The firms had all been on trial at Inner London Crown Court for 'failing to discharge a duty' under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Mrs Ferris said her husband's death was 'so sudden' and 'out of the blue', adding that it 'could have been prevented'.

In a statement read out in court by the prosecution, Mrs 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.' 

Mrs Ferris paid an emotional tribute to the 'great dad and grandad', who 'loved driving coaches', having followed in his own father's footsteps as a professional driver.

She said 400 people attended his funeral, which featured a coach with his name on it.

The widow 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.'

Jurors had been 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'.

Mr Justice Boyle said he was not sentencing the firms on the basis the design itself was unsafe as it was 'common within the industry' and there was no Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance prohibiting their use.

He added 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 added that Lindner Prater 'should have done more to complete and document the risk assessment process'.

In addition to the fine, Judge Boyle ordered the two firms to pay costs of £125,000 each.

HSE principal inspector James Goldfinch said Mr Ferris was a 'hardworking man just going about his day'.

Speaking outside court, Mr Goldfinch 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.

'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.'

The prosecution, which was brought by the HSE, said the designers had ignored concerns about the proven danger of outward-opening windows.

Gordon Menzies, prosecuting, had told jurors it was 'an accident waiting to happen again.

He added that the designers were 'hoping that residents would not forget to close their windows'.

'It was an accident that had already happened in August 2017,' Mr Menzies said.

He said that if the building had not had outward opening windows the risk could have been reduced.

'All that would have needed to have been done to eliminate the risk would have been to have the original design for inward opening windows.'

'It was not until the death of Mr Ferris that the design was properly revisited and the design was changed.'

The prosecutor said that companies have a duty to ensure public safety.

Windows at the building opened outwards to prevent them clashing with the ceiling coffer in some apartments

Property developer St James Group Ltd was fined £1million and specialist facade contractor Lindner Prater was fined £300,000

Mr Ferris was known for his rapport with coach passengers, who he would ferry to London from Rochester to Victoria each morning 

He said the world is not a 'risk-free environment' but the defendants had a duty to eliminate risk 'so far as was reasonably practical'.

'The prosecution say that these defendants did neither,' said Mr Menzies.

'They neither eliminated the risk nor reduced it to as low as was reasonably practical.

'Rather than stick to a safe and simple approach, they sought to rely on a much more difficult and dangerous approach.

'When they finally did change the design to something safe and simple it was far too late to prevent the death of Mr Ferris.

'The prosecution say that it was reasonable and practical to do a simple thing - to design a window that doesn't fall out once every year.'

Jurors heard the decision to change the design arose from a flaw where inward-opening windows would have clashed with the ceiling coffer in some of the standard apartments.

Mr Menzies told the court: 'The wind was sufficiently strong to blow the window open further than 8 and a half inches and the oversailing glass clashed with the frame and, as a result, the hinges were prised off.'

Foster + Partners, which is behind some of the world's most iconic buildings such as The Gherkin, was responsible for the initial designs of the Corniche.

The prosecution argued the firm should have known such risks due to its specialist knowledge of glass-covered buildings including the Gherkin. 

It argued its role did not extend to the technical aspects of the design once the building was in development.

St James took up the role of 'principal designer' in 2015, which meant it had a 'duty to co-ordinate matters in relation to health and safety', the trial heard.

Prosecuting for the HSE, Gordon Menzies told the court on Thursday that there had been a 'lack of proper risk assessment'.

Mitigating for St James, Prashant Popat KC said it was a 'horrific tragedy and preventable incident', adding that Mr Ferris's death 'should not have happened'.

He added that the company was 'deeply remorseful and regretful', and the incident was 'taken incredibly seriously by the company'.

Mr Popat said the firm's failure was 'secondary to Lindner's failure' and 'occurred even though St James did carry out a considerable amount of monitoring activity on this site'.

Mitigating for Lindner Prater, James Leonard KC said the incident 'should not have happened', adding the 'fatal accident was almost certainly a consequence of a failure of reinstatement' by a contractor the firm had hired to work on the site.

He added there was 'no way of knowing when this error was made' meaning it was not possible to 'point to a failure of monitoring or inspection by either of these two defendants'.

A spokesperson for F+P said: 'Our thoughts remain with Mr Ferris's family, as they have since October 2018. We note the court's decision and are grateful to the jury for the time and care they have taken in considering this matter.'

A spokesman for Wintech said: 'While the court has reached its conclusion, the tragedy of what happened remains. It is vital that we continue to reflect and learn, and as an industry, remain committed to strengthening standards and practices to help prevent such incidents in the future.'

A spokesman for St James said: 'The death of Mick Ferris in 2018 was tragic. Our thoughts remain with his family and friends. 

'We acknowledge today's verdict and will carefully consider its implications.'