West Yorkshire plant hire company fined £433,550 after forklift death
Chris Keegan died while working for Hessle Plant Ltd in Castleford
Last updated 4th Dec 2025
A plant hire company in West Yorkshire has been fined £433,550 following the death of employee Chris Keegan, who was fatally injured at work.
Chris, a delivery driver for Hessle Plant Ltd, died on November 20 2023 at the company’s main depot in Castleford.
Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard Chris had been reversing a forklift truck onto a trailer in the early hours of the morning when the vehicle slipped off the side of the trailer bed.
He was thrown from the forklift seat and trapped between the chassis of the truck and a neighbouring trailer.
Emergency services attended the scene but Chris succumbed to his injuries.
His widow Dianne, along with two stepdaughters, were present at the depot during the attempts to save his life.
Speaking about her loss, Dianne shared: “Chris was a wonderful, kind and generous man, who would do anything he could for anyone. He especially did anything he could for me."
"My heart is broken, and I will never get over losing my husband in such a horrific way. He never deserved to die in such tragic circumstances.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the forklift used by Chris had not undergone a full inspection to ensure it was safe to operate following repairs.
Further examination found additional defects in the vehicle that should have been addressed.
HSE also found Hessle Plant Ltd did not enforce seatbelt use for forklift truck operators, despite guidance advising businesses to provide them and supervise their usage. Employees at the company were reported to rarely wear seatbelts.
Hessle Plant Ltd admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £433,550, with additional costs of £8,146.80 and a £2,000 victim surcharge
David Beaton, HSE inspector, said: “This was a tragic and preventable death. Mr Keegan was placed at undue risk by operating a machine with underlying maintenance defects, which he would have been unaware of when attempting to reverse the forklift in the dark onto a trailer with an exposed edge.
"Had Mr Keegan been wearing the seatbelt provided, the accident he suffered would likely not have proven fatal.
"Every year there are fatal accidents caused by machinery which has not been properly maintained or inspected, and forklift truck drivers not wearing seatbelts.
"This case should underline to all businesses, which hire out or operate forklift trucks, the importance of keeping machinery in efficient working order and ensuring the use of seatbelts by forklift drivers is appropriately supervised.”