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Incident · Injury

Contractor crushed by a stationary assembly robot at Volkswagen's Baunatal plant, Germany (2015)

On July 1 2015 a 22-year-old contractor installing a stationary assembly robot at the Volkswagen plant in Baunatal, Germany was grabbed and crushed against a metal plate by the machine; he died of his injuries. The worker was inside the safety cage during setup when the robot activated.

Occurred 2015-07-01 · VW ID. Buzz AD at Los Angeles · Volkswagen Group · Los Angeles · Robotaxis

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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 Contractor crushed by a stationary assembly robot at Volkswagen's Baunatal plant, Germany (2015)

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Sources (1)

  1. CNN · https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/02/europe/germany-volkswagen-robot-kills-worker/index.html

Common questions

What happened in Contractor crushed by a stationary assembly robot at Volkswagen's Baunatal plant, Germany (2015)?
On July 1 2015 a 22-year-old contractor installing a stationary assembly robot at the Volkswagen plant in Baunatal, Germany was grabbed and crushed against a metal plate by the machine; he died of his injuries. The worker was inside the safety cage during setup when the robot activated.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on July 1, 2015 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
What robot was involved in Contractor crushed by a stationary assembly robot at Volkswagen's Baunatal plant, Germany (2015)?
VW ID. Buzz AD by Volkswagen Group is the recorded robot involved in this incident at Los Angeles.
Has anyone responded to Contractor crushed by a stationary assembly robot at Volkswagen's Baunatal plant, Germany (2015)?
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 Contractor crushed by a stationary assembly robot at Volkswagen's Baunatal plant, Germany (2015)?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-14

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-14

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source

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

Methodology surface for Contractor crushed by a stationary assembly robot at Volkswagen's Baunatal plant, Germany (2015).

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Canonical ID 631a4c56-71ab-4644-b8aa-30490b949f43