Widow pays heartbreaking tribute to husband killed at work as Castleford firm is fined £433,000
The widow of a delivery driver killed at work has described him as a “wonderful, kind and generous man”, after the company responsible was fined almost half-a-million pounds.
Chris Keegan, who was from the Wakefield area, was killed in 2023 after becoming trapped between a forklift truck and a trailer while working for Hessle Plant Ltd at its main depot in Castleford.
The company was taken to court and at Leeds Magistrates’ this week was ordered to pay out a fine of £433,550, with additional costs coming to more than £10,000.
Mr Keegan’s widow, Dianne said: “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.”
Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that on November 20, 2023, Mr Keegan had been tasked with returning the forklift truck to a customer’s site in Sheffield following repair work to its transmission.
As the 67-year-old reversed the vehicle onto the trailer shortly after 6am, it fell from the side of the trailer bed.
Mr Keegan was thrown from the seat and became trapped between the chassis of the forklift and a neighbouring trailer.
Mr Keegan’s wife and two of his stepdaughters arrived at the depot as the emergency services fought to save Chris’ life, but tragically his injuries proved fatal, and he died at the scene.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the forklift had not been subject to a full inspection to ensure it was safe to operate.
Examination of the forklift by HSE after the accident found several other defects which should have been identified and rectified before it was operated.
The investigation found that whilst Hessle Plant Ltd would undertake a full pre-delivery inspection on forklift trucks being delivered to new customers, at the time of the accident the company did not do this for machines being returned to existing customers.
HSE also found that many of the company’s employees would rarely wear seatbelts when operating forklift trucks, and there was no system in place for monitoring and enforcing seatbelt use on site.
Hessle Plant Ltd, of Carrwood Road Industrial Estate, Glasshoughton, Castleford, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector, David Beaton, 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.”