Wrongfull Death Lawsuit for Factory Worker Death Caused by Robot
Rogue factory robot blamed for death of human colleague
A rogue robot has been blamed for the death of a factory
worker in Michigan
By Mark Molloy 14 MARCH 2017 • 4:27PM
A rogue robot has been blamed for the death of a woman killed
in an accident at an auto-parts factory in Michigan.
Wanda Holbrook, who worked as a maintenance technician at
the Ventra Ionia Mains plant for 12 years, was “trapped by robotic machinery
and pronounced dead at the scene” in July 2015.
The 57-year-old’s widower, William Holbrook, has filed a
wrongful death complaint seeking damages from five robotics companies
responsible for manufacturing, installing and testing the robotics: Lincoln
Electric, Flex-N-Gate, Prodomax, FANUC and Nachi.
“Wanda was working in either section 140 or 150 within
the ‘100’ cell, when a robot from section 130 took Wanda by surprise, entering
the section she was working,” the lawsuit alleges.
She “suffered tremendous fright, shock and conscious pain
and suffering” when she was crushed to death, the suit claims.
“The robot from section 130 should have never entered
section 140, and should have never attempted to load a hitch assembly within a
fixture that was already loaded with a hitch assembly.
“A failure of one or more of defendants’ safety systems
or devices had taken place, causing Wanda’s death.”
Lincoln Electric, FANUC and Nachi have been named in two
additional claims of product liability and breach of implied warranty, Quartz
notes.
In her role, Ms Holbrook performed maintenance duties on
robots which required occasional inspection.
Holbrook v Prodomax Automation Ltd, et al, is currently
awaiting trial.
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