A lawyer died when a half-tonne wooden window frame toppled on to her as she walked in the street, an inquest heard on Wednesday.
Amanda Telfer, 44, was crushed to death by a 13ft by 13ft window, which fell on her in Hanover Street, central London.
The frame, which had been propped up against a wall, pinned her to the ground, Westminster Coroner's Court was told.
Members of the public lifted the frame off her and tried to resuscitate her before paramedics arrived and did the same.
But Ms Telfer, who was single and from south London, was pronounced dead at the scene last Thursday.
A post-mortem examination was carried out on Saturday and gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma.
Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox opened and adjourned the inquest to allow the Metropolitan Police and Health And Safety Executive to continue their investigation.
Ms Telfer, who worked for legal firm Keystone Law, also volunteered as an investigator for charity Reprieve, which helps Guantanamo Bay inmates and people facing the death penalty around the world,
Ms Telfer helped represent British-born Neil Revill, 40, who faced a possible death sentence for the double murder of a drug dealer and his girlfriend in California in 2001.
He was eventually sentenced to life after a trial last year.
Speaking from Guantanamo Bay, Clive Stafford Smith, the founder of Reprieve, told the London Evening Standard that Ms Telfer's death was "tragic".
"I heard about poor Amanda a couple of days ago - what a tragedy," he said.
"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."
Keystone Law, where Ms Telfer worked since 2005 specialising in libel, defamation and privacy law, said she was "an extremely talented lawyer, much admired by her clients and colleagues".
"Amanda was always a pleasure to work with and we shall miss her greatly," it said in a statement on its website.
Ms Telfer also worked for the publisher Random House for more than six years, with the company describing her as a "valued and popular consultant lawyer".
Sinead Martin, Random House's group legal director, said: "Amanda was very special, a thoroughly good person."
A review will be held in December to fix a date for the inquest.
No family members were in court for Wednesday's short hearing.
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