Key facts
- Foster + Partners was cleared of responsibility for the death of Mick Ferris.
- St James and Lindner Prater were found guilty of safety breaches.
- Mick Ferris, 53, died in 2018 when a 130kg window fell from a London penthouse.
- A similar window incident occurred at the same development a year prior without injuries.
- The prosecution argued designers ignored risks associated with outward-opening windows.
Foster + Partners, the architecture firm founded by Norman Foster, has been cleared of responsibility in the death of Mick Ferris, a 53-year-old coach driver, who was killed in 2018 when a 130kg window fell 90 metres from a newly constructed London penthouse. The incident occurred at The Corniche, a luxury tower block development on Albert Embankment.
However, a jury at Inner London crown court found project managers St James and project engineers Lindner Prater guilty of safety breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Building design engineers Wintech Ltd were also cleared.
The prosecution argued that designers should have considered the risks associated with outward-opening, side-hung windows, especially after a similar window panel fell from the same development a year earlier, though no one was injured. Jurors were told that a restrictor meant to prevent the window from being blown off had been removed, and designers failed to consider the consequences of this or the fulcrum effect on the hinges.
Lawyers for Foster + Partners stated the firm's role was limited to visual aspects of the design and they were not involved in technical issues. A spokesperson for Foster + Partners expressed condolences to Mr Ferris's family and noted the court's decision.