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El Reg reports
The family of a repair technician killed in an auto parts factory accident is suing five robotics companies they say are responsible.
In a suit [PDF] filed to the Western Michigan US District Court this week, the family of Wanda Holbrook claims that the companies that built, installed, and maintained the robotics at a trailer hitch assembly plant should be held liable for her fatal accident at the plant in 2015.
According to the lawsuit, Holbrook, a journeyman technician, was performing routine maintenance on one of the robots on the trailer hitch assembly line when the unit unexpectedly activated and attempted to load a part into the unit being repaired, crushing Holbrook's head.
Now Holbrook's estate is suing the three companies that built the robots (Fanuc America, Nachi Robotic, and Lincoln Electric) for failing to design adequate safeguards and protections into the robots. They're also suing two other companies that installed and maintained the unit (Flex-N-Gate, Prodomax) for failing to prevent an accident they say would have been avoided had safety been a higher priority.
(Score: 1) by Sourcery42 on Tuesday March 14 2017, @03:40PM
The real power OSHA has isn't in fines. It is the fact that they can shut down your operation if they believe truly willful disregard for employees is taking place. OSHA, MSHA and the like can shut down a plant, mine, factory, etc. until they are convinced things are under control and managed to their satisfaction. Piss them off bad enough and you might end up with one or two permanently embedded OSHA employees at your site just to keep an eye on you. However, the sad fact is usually you don't draw that much attention until one or more people have been maimed or killed.