Construction News
LONDON — The woman killed by falling construction materials near Hanover Square last week has been named as 44-year old Amanda Barrie Telfer, from Middlesex.
Ms Telfer was a consultant solicitor at Keystone Law. The firm described her as “an extremely talented lawyer, much admired by her clients and colleagues”.
An inquest was held at Westminster Coroners’ Court this morning and adjourned until December. The Coroner’s Office told CN the cause of death was “blunt force trauma to the chest, abdomen and pelvis”.
According to Coroner’s Officer Lynda Martindilla, two window frames, each weighing about half a ton and measuring 13 feet by 13 feet, fell on Ms Telfer, who lived on Mill Street in Bermondsey.
Keystone law firm said: “Amanda joined Keystone in 2005 and specialised in libel, defamation and privacy law.
“She represented several high-profile clients and worked for the human rights group, Reprieve.
“Amanda was always a pleasure to work with and we shall miss her greatly. Our thoughts are with Amanda’s family at this difficult time.”
The London Air Ambulance service confirmed to CN that they had received a call at 11:30 am on Aug 30, saying a woman had been injured by falling building materials.
She was reportedly crushed by the window frames that had been propped up against a wall.
The ambulance service sent a Hazardous Area Response team, two cycle responders, two ambulances and an air ambulance helicopter to the site but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Health and Safety Executive and Metropolitan Police are continuing their investigations.
The identification was confirmed by the father who resides at the same address in Southwark, said the Coroners’ Office.
Reprieve founder Clive Stafford Smith, speaking from Guantanamo Bay, told London’s Evening Standard the incident was a “tragedy”.
“She was a volunteer at Reprieve, and an excellent one, and then very kindly legalled my new book, so it was a pleasure to have the chance to catch up with her then,” he said.
“How very sad it was to hear, and my heart goes out to her family.”
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