{"id":"5880d253-4617-4fe2-a5df-6463ed37ae39","slug":"osha-traffic-materials-robotic-arm-fatality-2024","kind":"fatality","headline":"OSHA: 18-year-old machine operator killed by robotic arm during sensor maintenance (2024)","summary":"On December 2, 2024, an 18-year-old machine operator (employer: Traffic Materials Supplier, LLC) was performing maintenance on a sensor inside a robotic enclosure. The robot had been stopped by entrance sensors, but while he cleaned the sensor a coworker reset the machine from the control panel, unaware he was still inside. The robotic arm activated, struck him, and reportedly lifted and placed him onto a roller platform; he sustained fatal internal and external injuries. OSHA accident investigation (inspection 1790802.015) cited lockout/tagout and machine-guarding failures.","occurredAt":"2024-12-02T00:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":null,"deploymentId":null,"companyId":null,"dataCenterId":null,"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"catastrophic","rootCauseCategory":"maintenance_deficiency","rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":1,"affectedUnitsBasis":"exact","remediationStatus":"acknowledged","regulatoryAction":"investigation","regulatoryBody":"OSHA","propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":"fatal","fatalityCount":1,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":1,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"formFactor":null,"latitude":null,"longitude":null,"autonomyClass":"not_applicable","legalOutcomeClass":"no_charges_reported","createdAt":"2026-06-25T10:18:53.941Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T00:05:07.813Z","model":null,"deployment":null,"company":null,"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"42f15e77-ba7d-46f4-9ae5-f1ddd7fb08d9","incidentId":"5880d253-4617-4fe2-a5df-6463ed37ae39","url":"https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=1790802.015","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"OSHA Accident Report - Traffic Materials robotic arm fatality","sourceName":"OSHA","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-22T00:32:55.363Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T00:32:55.363Z"},{"id":"8af16142-eec5-45c3-8a44-e8a94762def1","incidentId":"5880d253-4617-4fe2-a5df-6463ed37ae39","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2024/https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=172270.015","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"OSHA Accident Report (archived 2024-12-02) — inspection 172270.015","sourceName":"OSHA (via Internet Archive)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-22T00:56:59.482Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T00:56:59.482Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/osha-traffic-materials-robotic-arm-fatality-2024","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/osha-traffic-materials-robotic-arm-fatality-2024","headline":"OSHA: 18-year-old machine operator killed by robotic arm during sensor maintenance (2024)","description":"On December 2, 2024, an 18-year-old machine operator (employer: Traffic Materials Supplier, LLC) was performing maintenance on a sensor inside a robotic enclosure. The robot had been stopped by entrance sensors, but while he cleaned the sensor a coworker reset the machine from the control panel, unaware he was still inside. The robotic arm activated, struck him, and reportedly lifted and placed him onto a roller platform; he sustained fatal internal and external injuries. OSHA accident investigation (inspection 1790802.015) cited lockout/tagout and machine-guarding failures.","identifier":"5880d253-4617-4fe2-a5df-6463ed37ae39","datePublished":"2024-12-02T00:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"fatality","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":[]}}}