The death of a baby who was struck by a lamp post five days after its foundations were inadvertently severed was an accident, an inquest jury decided on Wednesday.
Tommy Hollis suffered a devastating head injury when the lamp post fell on his buggy, which was being pushed by his nanny in Chiswick, west London, on 23 February, 2010.
He died in hospital 48 hours later, on the eve of his first birthday.
Workman Kelvin Elmore had cut a metal plate supporting the lamp post five days previously, not realising what it was, the inquest at West London Coroner's Court heard.
Coroner Elizabeth Pygott earlier told the jury that a verdict of accidental death was the only possible conclusion they could come to.
Kate Hollis arrives to hear the verdict at the end of the inquest into the death of her baby son Thomas
Before the jury began deliberations, Pygott said: "The issue of statutory liability for health and safety matters is not for this court and I do not consider that there is any evidence of a gross error that could give rise to any other conclusion, be it neglect, negligence or indeed unlawful killing. I have discounted this.
"But I should add, for your information, that the fact of an accidental conclusion is not a bar to any prosecution or civil proceedings. It is simply a conclusion limited to this court."
Owain Thomas, representing Tommy's parents Chris and Kate Hollis, had argued to the coroner that the jury should be allowed to return a verdict of unlawful killing.
But Pygott said that if she thought that either manslaughter or unlawful killing would be a "reasonable verdict", then she would have referred the matter back to the Crown Prosecution Service or to the police.
Tommy had been sleeping as his nanny Anna Martin waited to cross at traffic lights outside Chiswick Town Hall.
The steel plate connected to the lamp post was exposed after a trench was dug near the lamp post during a road re-widening scheme.
Elmore, a civil engineer with construction firm McNicholas, which was responsible for moving Virgin Media cables as part of the council project, tried to remove the metal structure, thinking it was part of an old tramline. He also took a sledgehammer to it, to try to detach it from a block of concrete, but gave up when his efforts were unsuccessful.
The inquest heard he was "utterly devastated" to learn of Tommy's death. His statement read: "As a father myself, I cannot express how horrified I am to have had any connection with the death of a child.
"I cannot imagine what the family are going through. As I said when I gave my statement to the police, if I could take the place of that child, then I would."
Elmore was found guilty of gross misconduct by his company and given a written warning. He is still employed by McNicholas.
His colleague Chris Odd said there had been a sense of "urgency" to complete the work.
Odd said: "I felt as though we had to get the job done, not from our end, but from the council end."
The inquest heard the head of transport at the London Borough of Hounslow emailed Aecom, in charge of designing the new road layout, to say the work needed to be done promptly as the general election was approaching.
Chris Calvi-Freeman wrote in the email: "I must emphasise the growing concern amongst my members, with this being a key civic site and the election approaching."
The message was sent on 18 February, the day Elmore cut into the steel plate, just 18 inches away from the lamp post which was due to be removed by the council later as part of the re-widening scheme.
Tommy's nanny said in a statement that she heard a "hollow" noise as she was waiting at the lights with the little boy.
"There was a terrible scream and I immediately pulled the pushchair back," she said in the statement.
It was then she realised the buggy had no wheels and had been hit by something. Something resembling a piece of pipe was lying across the roadworks barriers, she said.
Martin said: "Tommy looked like he was sleeping. It had all happened so fast."
She tried to revive the baby with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and a police officer told her later he was breathing.
"I didn't know what was wrong, but his eyes were closed and he looked like he was sleeping, which worried me." she continued. "I shouted for help."
Tommy was carried on to the steps of the town hall where efforts were made to revive him before an air ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.
Mary Gregory, who was pushing her granddaughter Poppy in a buggy next to Ms Martin, was also struck by the lamp post. She was knocked to the ground and treated in hospital overnight. The inquest heard that she was the woman Tommy's nanny could hear screaming.
Mrs Hollis left the coroner's court when evidence about her son's injuries was read to the jury.
Mr and Mrs Hollis set up the Tommy Hollis Children's Fund after their baby's death.
A message on the charity's website reads: "Tommy was a happy, smiley boy who spread joy to everyone he met and we would like to do something in his honour to spread the joy he gave us."
The couple, who live in Chiswick, had a second son, Jack, last September.
The Health and Safety Executive is continuing to investigate.