26 Floors – Sheared-Off Window Killed A Man

A man going about his business was instantly killed when he was struck by a window that had sheared off from 26 storeys above. Those responsible will pay an initial £1.8 million.

The court case. which concluded some weeks ago, saw four companies in the dock. Two were found not guilty while two were convicted, with the sentences handed down on 24 September 2026. The total the two convicted companies will have to pay is £1.8 million including costs. It is still to be seen how much the family of the victim will pursue in compensation.

Death came from the sky

Mick Ferris, a coach driver on his break, was killed by a window which plummeted from the Corniche development in London. The side-hung, outward-opening window sheared from its hinges. It was not the first time this style of window had sheared and fallen from the development.

The companies that have been convicted failed to effectively act after a near-miss one year earlier, when a window fell from the same penthouse and just missed workers on the ground.

An HSE investigation found the companies failed to properly consider the risk if the bespoke windows were left open and were caught by the windshear at height.

What happened?

The incident happened at around 10.30am on 2 October 2018. Mr Ferris had been just returning to his coach, which was parked up near the Corniche development on London’s Albert Embankment on the river Thames. The window weighing 130kg fell 300 feet killing the 53-year-old father and grandfather instantly.

St James Limited, part of the Berkeley Group, had been the developer of the Corniche, a three-tower development near Vauxhall Bridge, as well as the Principal Contractor and Principal Designer. Lindner Prater Limited was a specialist company engaged by St James to design the penthouse windows.

At an early stage of the design process, the windows had been changed from opening inwards to opening outwards, meaning if they detached, they would fall onto a pedestrian area.  However, they were never effectively risk assessed.

No testing

The safety of the windows relied on the performance of a single restrictor, held in by a single screw. None of the fittings had been confirmed by their manufacturers to be suitable for the bespoke curved penthouse windows. A sign on the windows advised residents not to leave their windows open. Each time a window sheared off, wind speeds were no higher than normal.

Picture: The height of the penthouse

Picture: The mangled window on the ground

Previous incident

In August 2017, more than a year before the fatal incident, a window left open in windy conditions fell from the same penthouses during construction, nearly hitting two workers. St James Limited led an internal review into the 2017 near miss. Records obtained by the HSE showed key noted areas of concern were not followed up effectively.

It was only after the second incident in 2018 and Mr Ferris’ 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.

Sentence handed down

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 found guilty to 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 £1 million and ordered to pay costs of £125,000 and Lindner Prater Limited was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £125,000.

Failure cost a life

HSE lead inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said after sentencing: “Two companies that are widely seen as leaders in their fields failed to respond to an obvious risk. Tragically this cost the life of a man simply going about his day.

“Even 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.

“Both times a window fell, the wind speeds were not unusually high.”

Warning to the industry

Verrall-Withers added: “The 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 necessary improvements are coordinated.

“The investigation assessed the involvement of multiple companies, thousands of documents and highly complex technical evidence. This was followed by the wait for a Trial.

“We are grateful for Mr Ferris’ family’s understanding throughout and hope this outcome brings them some closure.”

Impact on family

Mick Ferris’ wife Rachel described his death as being ‘so sudden’ and ‘out of the blue. “It has made it so much worse to get used to,” she said. “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.”

Can’t we do this better?

Rachel Ferris added: “The fact this could have been prevented, I just can’t explain. If somebody had done something differently. Anything. It would have changed our lives.

“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.”

My life has changed forever

Mrs Ferris added: “We were due to fly to the Maldives the Saturday after Mick died to celebrate our anniversary. We had half-packed suitcases in our house. It was a bucket list place for Mick and he never got to go there. We never got to go there.

“He was also a great dad and grandad. When his kids needed him, he was there.

“Four hundred people attended his funeral. There was even a coach with his name on it. He is missed by so many it is unbelievable.

“This has changed our lives. It has changed my whole outlook on everything. My life has changed forever.”

Pictures: Close up of window frame and bracket taken by police in Oct 2018; The height of the Penthouse; The mangled window on the ground; and below - Mick Ferris who was killed by the falling window.