Property consultancy fined £1.33m after prosecution by council over death of woman during ‘Storm Doris’

A commercial property consultancy has been fined £1.3m after it was prosecuted by Wolverhampton City Council over the death of a 29-year-old woman during ‘Storm Doris’ in February 2017.

Cushman & Wakefield Debenham Tie Leung was sentenced by Mrs Justice Carr at Wolverhampton Crown Court earlier this week.

Tahnie Martin, a young professional woman who was engaged to be married, was walking with a work colleague along Dudley Street next to the Mander Centre in Wolverhampton on 23 February 2017. She was struck and killed by a large and heavy wooden panel which had been blown off the top of a plant room of the nearby Blackrock building, which formed part of the centre.

Cushman & Wakefield had been the managing agent for the building since September 2012. Its responsibilities included identification of the structures and facilities making up the building as necessary for planning and risk assessment purposes.

In her sentencing remarks Mrs Justice Carr said: “The Company failed to identify two particular brick-built structures on top of the plant room roof (“the plantroom roof”) which was itself on top of the roof known as Level 6: namely a former ventilation shaft with a substantial wooden louvered hood and a disused water tank topped with a large wooden panel structure.

“The structures were not inspected or maintained in any way whilst under the Company’s charge. They were omitted from maintenance plans. By23 February 2017 the parts intended to secure the structures to the brick were entirely rotten and/or corroded.”

When subjected to winds of up to 58 to 59 mph they were “simply blown away”, said the judge.

Cushman & Wakefield pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 of failing, on and before 23 February 2017, to conduct its undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that members of the public were not exposed to material risk to their health and safety.

Commenting after the sentencing, Richard Phillips, senior solicitor at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “After a highly complex and thorough investigation into this tragic case, where we proved that Tahnie Martin lost her life due to clear failings by Cushman and Wakefield, City of Wolverhampton Council welcomes the successful outcome of this prosecution.

“The sentence of £1.3m reflects the shocking state of disrepair on the roof of the Mander Centre that could and should have been repaired. The structures which were lifted from the roof were clearly visible both on the roof and from the offices of Cushman and Wakefield.”

Phillips added: “No amount of financial penalty will ever bring Tahnie back, but we hope ultimately that this sentence resonates with all those responsible for maintaining buildings to ensure that this can never happen again.

“Our thoughts remain with Tahnie’s parents - Jim and Rosie, her fiancé Shaun, family and friends. They have remained steadfastly patient and dignified throughout the course of this lengthy investigation and subsequent prosecution. City of Wolverhampton Council would like to place on record our sincere thanks to them.”