Two developers have been found guilty of ignoring “foreseeable risks” after a coach driver was killed by a falling window pane.
Mick Ferris, 53, died when a window fell 26 storeys from the penthouse of The Corniche, a tower block on London’s Embankment, on 2 October 2018.
St James Group Ltd, a large property developer, and Lindner Prater Ltd, specialist contractors, were found guilty at Inner London Crown Court of “failing to discharge a duty” under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. They will be sentenced on 24
September.
Missing window on the top floor of The Corniche. Pic: PA© PA
Foster + Partners, the architecture firm behind The Gherkin, and engineering consultants Wintech Ltd were cleared of the same charges.
During the trial, the court heard the “extraordinary” fact that a window panel had already fallen from the same development in August 2017, and the design was not substantially altered as a result.
