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Incident · Fatality

OSHA: Worker struck from behind and killed by transfer robot inside work cell at Sodecia Sterling Heights (2012)

On December 15, 2012, a 38-year-old employee at Sodecia Sterling Heights was working inside a robot work cell with the interlocked gates closed when he was struck from behind by a transfer robot, crushing his chest and neck and killing him. The worker had a lock attached to his belt loop at the time of the incident. OSHA accident investigation, inspection 315412452.

Occurred 2012-12-15 · Investigated by OSHA

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Incident records on DEPLOY are compiled from public sources (regulatory filings, news reports, and operator disclosures) and reflect what has been reported and tracked to date. They are not legal findings, determinations of fault, or safety ratings, and may be updated as new information is verified. See the sources below for the underlying references.
Track OSHA: Worker struck from behind and killed by transfer robot inside work cell at Sodecia Sterling Heights (2012)

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Sources (2)

  1. https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=315412452
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20250113102411/https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=201392776

Common questions

What happened in OSHA: Worker struck from behind and killed by transfer robot inside work cell at Sodecia Sterling Heights (2012)?
On December 15, 2012, a 38-year-old employee at Sodecia Sterling Heights was working inside a robot work cell with the interlocked gates closed when he was struck from behind by a transfer robot, crushing his chest and neck and killing him. The worker had a lock attached to his belt loop at the time of the incident. OSHA accident investigation, inspection 315412452.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on December 15, 2012 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
Has anyone responded to OSHA: Worker struck from behind and killed by transfer robot inside work cell at Sodecia Sterling Heights (2012)?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of OSHA: Worker struck from behind and killed by transfer robot inside work cell at Sodecia Sterling Heights (2012)?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-22

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-22

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for OSHA: Worker struck from behind and killed by transfer robot inside work cell at Sodecia Sterling Heights (2012).

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Canonical ID c0201b09-1d90-4ab0-a6c1-e9b8413ab076