Warwickshire Coroners' Court was told that James Merritt was carrying out statutory inspections on two passenger lifts and a freight elevator at Telent Technologies Services in Warwick on 11 October 2016. He fell down the empty shaft of one of the passenger lifts and sustained fatal head injuries.
Paramedics arrived at the industrial park but Merritt, who worked for Zurich Engineering and had been named Engineer Surveyor of the Year by the Bureau of Engineer Surveyors in 2014, died at the scene.
Assistant coroner for Warwickshire, Delroy Henry, said: "He arrived a little after 8am to begin his work -- he interacted with a maintenance worker.
"He unfortunately was discovered at the bottom of the lift pit where the passenger doors operate just before 1.30pm.
"He suffered major trauma to his head and later died at the scene."
The five-day hearing this week was told that Merritt was one of the most qualified safety experts at Zurich Engineering and had been an engineer for more than 20 years.