Kildare company fined in connection to death of worker
Photo for illustrative purposes only
A FINE of €225,000 was recently imposed on a Kildare company following the fatal head injury sustained by an employee.
Judge Elva Duffy recently imposed the fine €225,000 on Kildare Chilling Company Unlimited Company at Naas Circuit Court.
On the morning of 14 May 2020 at Kildare Chilling Company Unlimited, Curragh Road, Kildare Town, Co. Kildare, Binak Cokaj, working as a packer, suffered fatal head injuries because 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 had previously pleaded guilty to three charges in breach of Safety, Health and Welfare legislation.
The company pleaded guilty failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety, health, and welfare at work of its employees; failing to properly maintain a Cryovac vacuum packing machine; to plan sufficient inspections of the machine, and address issues of corrosion on same.
The company also pleaded to ensure that special inspections were carried out when exceptional circumstances arose in relation to work equipment, 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 15 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.”
