Company fined a further £200,000 after woman killed by flying debris from unsafe Wolverhampton building
A company has been fined £200,000 and forced to pay £10,000 costs after debris blown off an unsafe roof in Wolverhampton killed a woman.
Tahnie Martin, 29, from Stafford, died as Storm Doris blew a wooden panel from rotten fixings on the Mander Centre which was managed by Cushman and Wakefield Debenham Tie Leung Limited.
On February 23, 2017 around 11.30am Ms Martin was walking past Starbucks, in Dudley Street, when a 4ft 2ins by 5ft piece of wood was blown from the six-storey Black Rock Building, hitting her and injuring her friend Raman Sarpal.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) held a two day disciplinary tribunal this week after the company was found to have brought the institute into disrepute. The company had already been sentenced and fined £1.3 million in July 2019 at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Cushman and Wakefield Debenham Tie Leung Limited, the managing agent responsible for centre maintenance at the time of the incident, admitted two charges relating to health and safety breaches.
After the hearing the panel gave its verdict. The imposed a sanction of £200,000 fine, together with a reprimand. They ordered costs in favour of RICS in the sum of £10,000 and ordered publication of the decision on RICS website and in the RICS journal, Modus.
The charges relate to the firm being convicted by Wolverhampton magistrates in 2019 of failing to ensure people were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
Between April 2011 and 23 February 2017 the firm failed to act with "due skill, care and diligence" in its appointment of a centre property manager.
Other issues included failing to identify the structures on the sixth-floor plant room roof of the building, failing to request safe arrangements to inspect the roof, to inspect the roof structures, to carry out repairs and to appropriately supervise the manager.
Cushman and Wakefield admitted responsibility for its actions in subsequent court hearings.
Since the tragedy the firm has carried out over 1,000 property checks using its new more robust maintenance checking policy.
It's set up an executive delivery committee in 2018 which met monthly to put all the recommendations from the action plan in place.
It's introduced a comprehensive training package to ensure the new training is spread throughout the global group. In 2021 presentations on the new policies were made globally including the United States.
Representing the company Eleanor Sanderson, said: "The company has done everything it can to learn lessons from the tragedy. This is not a case of recklessness, dishonesty, deliberate or intentional breach."
