First Robot-Linked Workplace Deaths Revisited, From 1979 Ford Case to $10 Million Judgment

Overview

• Robert Williams, 25, was killed on January 25, 1979 at Ford’s Flat Rock, Michigan casting plant when a parts-retrieval arm struck him from behind and crushed him, according to legal records.
• Reports state the automated system continued operating for about 30 minutes before coworkers discovered Williams’ body.
• In 1983, Williams’ family won a $10 million verdict against manufacturer Litton Industries, described at the time as Michigan’s largest personal-injury award, based on inadequate safeguards.
• The family’s attorney cautioned against treating workers as expendable, invoking lessons from the Industrial Revolution during the case.
• A second fatality was recorded in 1981 in Akashi, Japan, where Kawasaki Heavy Industries worker Kenji Urada died after contact with a mechanical arm while checking a malfunctioning robot, a case documented by legal scholar Gabriel Hallevy.