Mick Ferris, a 53-year-old grandfather and coach driver, was killed instantly in 2018 when the 130kg window fell 300ft and struck him. The windows had been changed to outward opening early in the design process, without, HSE says, effective risk assessment.
During construction in 2017, another window had fallen when left open in windy conditions, nearly striking two workers below. St James led an internal near miss review into the incident, but records obtained by the HSE showed key noted areas of concern were not followed up effectively.
The safety of the windows relied on the performance of a single restrictor, held in by a single screw, and none of the fittings had been confirmed by their manufacturers to be suitable for the bespoke curved penthouse windows.
It was only after the second incident in 2018 and Mr Ferris鈥� death, that the windows were redesigned to open inward and the public walking below the penthouses were no longer at risk if a window was left open.
Ferris's wife Rachel described the impact of her husband's sudden death. "It has made it so much worse to get used to,鈥� she said. 鈥淢ick 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.
"I know it wasn鈥檛 just one person, but one person could have changed this. One person could have asked 鈥榗an鈥檛 we do this better?' What those companies did killed my husband."
After a five week trial, both St James Limited, of Berkeley House, 19 Portsmouth Road, Cobham and Lindner Prater Limited of 45 London Road, Reigate, were found guilty of contravening Section 3(1) of The Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974.
At sentencing on 24 September 2026 at the Inner London Crown Court, St James was fined 拢1million and ordered to pay costs of 拢125,000 and Lindner Prater Limited was fined 拢300,000 and ordered to pay costs of 拢125,000.
HSE lead inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said, 鈥淭wo companies 鈥� widely seen as leaders in their fields failed to respond to an obvious risk, and tragically this cost the life of a man simply going about his day.
鈥淏oth times a window fell, the wind speeds were not unusually high.鈥�
鈥淓ven after a window had fallen in 2017, luckily just missing workers below, sufficient attention was not given to assessing the risk of the windows detaching and falling if left open in windy conditions. Too much reliance was placed on adding a small sign to the windows, in effect hoping the residents would not forget to close windows.鈥�
鈥淭he construction industry should pay attention to this tragic case. Principal designers need to pay careful attention to clarifying exactly what services architects, designers, and consultants will provide, and then effectively monitor their performance to ensure related risks are identified and coordinate necessary improvements."
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