A BRIDE-TO-BE killed by a flying wood panel died as a result of "tragic" failings, a building manager has admitted.
Tahnie Martin was struck by a 4ft by 5ft plank when Storm Doris ripped it off six-storey Mander Centre in Wolverhampton.
Cushman and Wakefield Debenham Tie Leung Limited, responsible for maintenance, admitted two charges relating to health and safety breaches on Tuesday.
A panel from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) was told issues included a failure to inspect the roof and to carry out repairs.
The wooden plank on the Black Rock Building was rotten at its fixings when it detached shortly before 11.30am on February 23, 2017.
Tahnie, 29, from Stafford, was walking past Starbucks on Dudley Street when the panel struck her and injured a pal.
Read More on this story
Storm Doris victim Tahnie Martin’s family ‘can’t imagine a future with happiness without her’ in heartbreaking tribute
Company admits safety failures after bride-to-be was killed by wood panel
Representing the company this week, Eleanor Sanderson told the panel: "The breach was causative of tragic death and injury.
"Once more it is the intention of the company to express its very deepest regret for the failings which gave rise to the death of Tahnie Martin, to her family and to her friends."
She said the company has "done everything it can" to learn from the University of Wolverhampton student's death.
Cushman and Wakefield was earlier convicted by Wolverhampton magistrates in 2019, and fined £1.3m for the death.
Most read in The Sun
Deadly shipment of uranium seized at Heathrow destined for UK-based Iranians
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard offered Poland job after Aston Villa sacking
Iconic Channel 4 show axed just two series after major reboot
Gordon Ramsay 'accidentally lets slip wife Tana is pregnant with 6th child'
The hearing heard how between April 2011 and the day Tahnie died, the firm failed to act with "due skill, care and diligence" in its appointment of a centre property manager.
Cushman and Wakefield admitted responsibility for its actions in subsequent court hearings.
Speaking in 2019, Richard Phillips, senior solicitor for City of Wolverhampton Council, said Tahnie’s parents, Rosie and Jim, had been “shattered” by her death.
He added: "She was a popular, beautiful and ambitious young woman who had a very bright future…
"Cruelly stolen from her in the most shocking of circumstances owing to the failings of the defendant, Cushman and Wakefield Debenham Tie Leung Limited."
Source: Read Full Article
