The operators of a Park Lane car park have been fined more than £60,000 after a gardener broke his back when he fell down a ventilation shaft while tending to flowers.
Marvin Christie, of Battersea, needed a series of operations to insert metal plates into his spine and rebuild his shattered ankle when an unsecured grille gave way and he fell 36ft on to a concrete floor.
Mr Christie, who was 24 when the accident happened in 2013, remains in pain every day, has been forced to give up his hobbies of football, cycling and go-karting, and finds it hard to sit for long periods.
He now has a desk job with John Lewis but remains under the care of doctors, Southwark crown court was told.
Watford-based companies Saba Infra UK Limited, which runs the Mayfair car park, and owners Bouwfonds European Real Estate Parking Fund both admitted a health and safety breach.
The court heard the cover that gave way had come loose, possibly due to traffic vibrations, and inspections at least every six months had not been carried out.
Recorder Nigel May fined Saba Infra £45,000 and Luxembourg-based Bouwfonds £16,000, and ordered them to pay £58,000 in costs between them.
He added that both companies are well-run and this lapse was “very out of character”.
