A luxury architecture firm and three other companies are on trial over the death of coach driver Mick Ferris, 53, who was "killed instantly" when a window pane fell from the 27-storey Corniche tower in Vauxhall, south-west London, on 2 October 2018. Foster + Partners, the practice behind The Gherkin, designed the development and is accused of ignoring "foreseeable risks", with prosecutors describing the incident as "an accident waiting to happen again". The case matters because jurors heard a similar panel had already fallen from the same building a year earlier, yet no design changes were made.

Mr Ferris, who drove for Clarkes of London, was returning to his coach parked opposite the tower when the pane fell around 300ft (roughly 90m) from the penthouse, striking him on impact. The glass weighed 130kg and measured approximately 85cm wide by 190cm tall. Foster + Partners, along with Lindner Prater Ltd, Wintech Ltd and St James Group Ltd, are each charged with "failing to discharge a duty" under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The trial is being heard at Inner London Crown Court, with prosecutor Gordon Menzies leading the case; an earlier panel had fallen from the development in August 2017.