Key facts
- St James Group Ltd and Lindner Prater Ltd were found guilty of health and safety breaches.
- Mick Ferris, 53, died in October 2018 when a 130kg window pane fell 300ft from The Corniche tower block.
- A previous window had fallen from the development in August 2017.
- Foster + Partners and Wintech Ltd were cleared of all charges.
- The convicted firms will be sentenced on September 24.
Two companies have been found guilty of health and safety breaches after a man was killed by a falling window pane from a luxury London tower block. Mick Ferris, 53, was crushed when a 130kg window fell 300ft from the penthouse of The Corniche on Albert Embankment in October 2018.
St James Group Ltd, a property developer, and Lindner Prater Ltd, specialist contractors, were convicted at Inner London Crown Court of "failing to discharge a duty" under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The court heard that a window panel had previously fallen from the same development in August 2017, and the design was not substantially altered.
Foster + Partners, the architecture firm responsible for the initial designs, and engineering consultants Wintech Ltd were cleared of the same charges after deliberation. The prosecution argued that the developers failed to use the first falling window as a reason to redesign the window, which opened outwards and was held by a single restrictor, making it vulnerable to wind.
Construction workers were reportedly told not to open the windows, and small written warnings were placed near them for residents. The design was only revisited after Mr Ferris's death, returning to inward-opening windows. Sentencing for St James Group Ltd and Lindner Prater Ltd is scheduled for September 24.