Firms Fined £1.3M After Deadly Window Fall Kills Coach Driver
Firms Fined £1.3M After Deadly Window Fall Kills Coach Driver
Justice served? Property developers fined after a 130kg window fell 26 storeys from a luxury London building, tragically killing Mick Ferris. A story of negligence and preventable loss.
A property developer has been handed a significant fine after a tragic incident saw a heavy window fall from a luxury riverside penthouse in south London, resulting in the death of a coach driver.
Mick Ferris, 53, was fatally crushed when the 130kg (20 stone) glass pane plummeted 26 storeys from The Corniche building in Vauxhall on October 2, 2018. He was returning to his coach on central London's Albert Embankment when the accident occurred.
His widow, Rachel Ferris, expressed her grief and anger during the sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court, stating that her husband's death \"could have been prevented.\" Her words highlighted a critical detail: a similar window incident had occurred at the same development in August 2017, yet the design was not substantially changed afterwards.
Property developer St James Group Ltd was fined £1 million, with their representative, Prashant Popat KC, conveying their "deep remorse and regret." Additionally, specialist façade contractor Lindner Prater was fined £300,000.
Both companies were found guilty of ignoring \"foreseeable risks.\"
Judge Boyle emphasized that St James should have been more vigilant in \"ensuring the critical safety component\" of the window was \"present and engaged.\" He also noted that 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. Luxury architecture firm Foster + Partners and engineering consultants Wintech Ltd were cleared of the same charge.
Rachel Ferris shared the profound impact of her husband's death, describing it as \"so sudden\" and \"out of the blue.\" In a statement read in court, she lamented, \
If somebody had done something differently, anything, it would have changed our lives. We wouldn't be in this position.\
She added poignantly, \"What those companies did killed my husband. The thought this could have happened to anybody is always with me.
It could have been a child.\"
Health and Safety Executive principal inspector James Goldfinch underscored the gravity of the situation, stating, \"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 incident garnered widespread attention, with television host James Corden paying tribute to Mick Ferris, a fellow West Ham fan, on social media, urging people to cherish their loved ones. Mick Ferris was a coach driver for Clarkes of London and was remembered by 400 attendees at his funeral, testament to how widely he was missed.", "city": "London
