Kildare Chilling Company fined €225,000 following a fatal accident on the 14th of May 2020

Friday 16th January 2026

Today, Friday 16th January 2026, at Kildare Circuit Court sitting in Naas, Judge Elva Duffy imposed a fine of €225,000 on Kildare Chilling Company Unlimited Company.

On the morning of 14th May 2020 at Kildare Chilling Company Unlimited, Curragh Road, Kildare Town, Co. Kildare, Mr. Binak Cokaj, working as a Packer, suffered fatal head injuries as a result of the lid of a vacuum packing machine, namely Sealed Air Ltd. Cryovac VS95, closing on him as he was working at it.

Kildare Chilling Company Unlimited (being an Employer) had previously pleaded guilty to three charges in breach of Safety, Health and Welfare legislation.

The company pleaded guilty to Section 8(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, contrary to Section 77(9)(a) of the same Act, in that it failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety, health, and welfare at work of its employees as required by section 8(1) and in particular 8(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, in that it failed to properly maintain a Cryovac vacuum packing machine, failed to plan sufficient inspections of the machine, and failed to address issues of corrosion on same, and as a consequence, a person, namely, Binak Cokaj, suffered personal injuries and died.

The company pleaded guilty to Section 8(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, contrary to Section 77(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, in that it failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety, health, and welfare at work of its employees as required by section 8(1) and in particular 8(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, in that it failed to properly maintain a Cryovac vacuum packing machine, failed to plan sufficient inspections of the machine, and failed to address issues of corrosion on same.

The company pleaded guilty to Regulation 30(b)(ii) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, contrary to Section 77(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, in that it did fail to ensure that special inspections were carried out when exceptional circumstances arose in relation to work equipment, to wit a Cryovac Vacuum packing machine, which was exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in a danger to safety or health and which were liable to make the work equipment unsafe.

This is the second time Kildare Chilling Company has come before the courts in relation to a fatal workplace incident. In January 2022, the company was fined €400,000 at Naas Circuit Court following the death of an employee who was struck and crushed by a mobile forklift truck at its plant on 15th February 2018.

Mark Cullen, CEO at the Health and Safety Authority commented,

“A worker tragically lost his life in circumstances that should never occur in any workplace. Employers have a clear legal duty to ensure that machinery is properly maintained, inspected and kept in a safe condition at all times. Failure to do so exposes workers to unacceptable risks. Today’s outcome highlights the serious consequences when these responsibilities are not met.”