Robert Williams (robot fatality)

While working at the Ford Motor Company's Michigan Casting Center, Williams was struck and killed by the arm of a robotic transfer vehicle.

Part of the machine included one-ton transfer vehicles, which were carts on rubber wheels equipped with mechanical arms to move castings to and from the shelves.

When the robot gave erroneous inventory readings, Williams was asked to climb into the racks to retrieve parts manually.

[1] He climbed into the third level of the storage rack,[2] where he was struck from behind and crushed by one of the one-ton transfer vehicles,[3] killing him instantly.

"[3] In a 1983 jury decision, the court awarded his estate $10 million — the largest personal injury in Michigan at the time — and concluded that there simply were not enough safety measures in place to prevent such an accident from happening.