Mick Ferris, 53, was killed on 2 October 2018 when a 130kg window pane measuring about 85cm by 190cm fell 26 storeys from The Corniche in Vauxhall. St James (Berkeley Group) was fined £1,000,000 and facade contractor Lindner Prater £300,000 after being convicted under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974; each company was also ordered to pay £125,000 in costs. The judge said a missing or disconnected metal restrictor would have prevented the detachment and criticised both firms for inadequate checks and risk‑assessment documentation. The widow said the death "could have happened to anybody", and inspectors noted a similar panel fell at the same development in August 2017.
Firms Fined £1.3m After 26‑Storey Window Fell From London Penthouse, Killing Man
A view from the penthouse from where the window pane fell - Health and Safety Executive
The widow of a man killed when a single window pane detached from a 26‑storey riverside penthouse in Vauxhall said the tragedy "could have happened to anybody", a court heard.
Mick Ferris, 53, a father of two and a driver for Clarkes of London, was fatally crushed when a glass panel weighing about 130kg and measuring roughly 85cm by 190cm fell from The Corniche on the Albert Embankment at around 10:40am on 2 October 2018.
The window pane fell 26 storeys - Health and Safety Executive
At a sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court, St James — the property developer owned by the Berkeley Group — was fined £1,000,000 and facade contractor Lindner Prater was fined £300,000 after jurors found both companies guilty of failing to discharge duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Judge Matthew Boyle also ordered each company to pay £125,000 in legal costs.
Prosecutors told the court that a similar panel fell from the same development in August 2017, but the design was not substantially changed. The trial examined the windows' design: the outward‑opening panels were retained by a single metal "restrictor". If the restrictor was missing or not properly connected, a panel could be prised free by wind or other forces.
Mick Ferris was a 'hardworking man just going about his day' - Health and Safety Executive
Judge Boyle made clear he was not condemning the window design itself — outward‑opening panels with restrictors are "common within the industry" and not prohibited by specific HSE guidance — but said the restrictor's presence and correct engagement was critical. "The restrictor, if present and connected, would have prevented detachment," he said, adding St James should have been more robust in ensuring the safety component was present and engaged and that Lindner Prater should have completed and documented the risk assessment and reinstatement processes more thoroughly.
"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,"
– Rachel Ferris, read in court
Mitigating for St James, Prashant Popat KC described the incident as a "horrific tragedy" and said the company was "deeply remorseful", noting St James had carried out monitoring activity on site. Counsel for Lindner Prater, James Leonard KC, suggested the fatal accident was "almost certainly a consequence of a failure of reinstatement" by a contractor the firm had engaged.
James Goldfinch, Principal Inspector at the Health and Safety Executive, described Mr Ferris as "a hardworking man just going about his day" and criticised the failures. Outside court he said: "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. For a window to fall once was quite extraordinary, for it to fall again was simply criminal."
The Corniche development advertises "panoramic views" across the River Thames toward the Houses of Parliament and includes amenities such as a gym, pool and spa; some flats have been marketed with asking prices around £3,000,000.
Help us improve.
