Based on your advise, I ordered, received and installed the door handle.
The handle set I removed is of the exact same design, the safety spring must have been lost at some point.
Before my purchase, my immediate question should have been:
Are these safety springs available as a single item?
Thanks for your help, Swisco seems to be a class act!!
Thank you! However, I'm afraid the manufacturer doesn't provide the spring by itself. We have asked them on several occasions but they do not appear interested. Sorry we can't be of more help!