Widow of man crushed to death by falling window says he's ‘missed by so many’ as two firms fined
The widow of a man who was killed by a window that fell 26 storeys from a building in London has said he is ‘missed by so many’ as two firms were fined more than £1 million over his death.
Coach driver Mick Ferris, 53, was crushed to death by a window from The Corniche, a luxury development in Vauxhall, on 2 October 2018.
Today (Thursday 24 September), property developer St James Group Ltd was fined £1 million and specialist facade contractor Lindner Prater was fined £300,000 at a sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court.
The trial was told that a window panel had fallen from the same development a little over a year earlier in August 2017 but that the design of the building was not substantially changed as a result.
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Mick’s widow Rachel said in a statement that her husband was ‘missed by so many it was unbelievable’ and shared that 400 people went to his funeral.
In the statement, which was read out in court by the prosecution, that the death had been ‘so sudden’ and ‘out of the blue’ and claimed it ‘could have been prevented.
She said: “If somebody had done something differently – anything – it would have changed our lives. We wouldn’t be in this position.
“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.”
She praised her husband as a ‘great dad and grandad’ and said he ‘loved’ his job driving coaches that he took up following in the footsteps of his dad, who was also a professional driver.
The widow added: “Mick 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.”
HSE principal inspector James Goldfinch said Mr Ferris was a ‘hardworking man just going about his day’.
Speaking outside court, Goldfinch added: “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 reality is that anybody could have been walking past the building that day.
“Nobody’s life should be put in danger due to the clear failings of others.”
A spokesperson for St James said: “The death of Mick Ferris in 2018 was tragic. Our thoughts remain with his family and friends.
“We acknowledge the court’s sentencing decision and the fine imposed.
“Safety is of fundamental importance to St James, and remains our highest priority.”
Prosecuting for the HSE, Gordon Menzies told the court on Thursday that there had been a ‘lack of proper risk assessment’.
The Corniche is a luxury building located on the River Thames’s Albert Embankment, with ‘panoramic views’ of Houses of Parliament. Apartments in the high-end building, which comes with its own gym, pool, and spa, cost up to £3 million.
Topics: UK News
Claire Reid