The architects and three companies involved in the construction of a luxury London apartment tower are standing trial over the death of a man who was crushed by a falling window panel that plunged 25 storeys from the building.
The victim, Mick Ferris, was killed instantly in October 2018 after a 130kg window panel fell around 250 feet from the penthouse of The Corniche, a luxury residential development on London’s Albert Embankment.
Ferris, a coach driver employed by Clarkes of London and a lifelong West Ham United supporter, had been returning to his coach when the massive glass panel, measuring approximately 95cm wide and 190cm high, struck him.
At Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutors alleged the tragedy was caused by a dangerous design flaw after the building’s original inward-opening windows were changed to open outwards during construction.
According to prosecutor Gordon Menzies, the revised design created a serious risk that strong winds could force the windows off their hinges.
“The prosecution’s case is that the final design of these windows was not safe,” Menzies told the court, adding that the windows relied on a single metal restrictor with no effective fail-safe system if it failed.
The court also heard that a similar window panel had fallen from the building in August 2017, more than a year before Ferris’ death. Although no one was injured in that earlier incident, prosecutors argued it should have prompted an immediate redesign of the windows.
Instead, jurors were told, construction workers were instructed not to open the windows, warning notices were placed inside apartments and developers relied on residents remembering to keep the windows shut.
Following Ferris’ death, the building’s window design was changed back to inward-opening windows.
Architectural firm Foster + Partners has been charged with failing to discharge its duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Three other companies involved in the project — Lindner Prater Ltd, Wintech Ltd and St James Group Ltd — face the same charge over alleged health and safety failures.
The prosecution alleges the companies exposed members of the public to serious danger through the design of the penthouse windows.
Following the tragedy, Ferris’ son, Daniel, paid an emotional tribute to his father, describing him as his lifelong hero and expressing the family’s heartbreak over his sudden death. Friends and colleagues also remembered him as a well-loved and respected coach driver.
The Corniche, designed by Foster + Partners, comprises 252 luxury apartments overlooking the River Thames and is marketed as one of London’s premier riverside developments, with homes valued between £2.7 million and £6.25 million.
The trial is ongoing.
