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Man sues after wife was allegedly killed by robot


A man has filed a lawsuit against five different companies after his wife was allegedly killed by a robot at work.

According to the legal document filed last week, the victim is identified as Wanda Holbrook, who performed maintenance on robots.

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She was working at the facility of a Michigan firm called Ventra Ionia LLC when on 7 July 2015 a robot from another area entered the section she was in.

The brief states: "The robot hit and crushed Wanda's head between a hitch assembly it was attempting to place in the fixture of section 140, and a hitch assembly that was already in the fixture, and Wanda suffered tremendous fright, shock and conscious pain and suffering."

The suit also adds that she was pronounced dead later that afternoon.

Her husband, William Holbrook, is asking to be awarded an unspecified amount in damages in the wrongful death suit - citing product liability and the malfunction of safety systems.

Ventra Ionia was fined $7,000 after Wanda's death was investigated by the Michigan occupational and health administration.