A veteran factory mechanic was crushed to death by a robotic arm inside a Michigan engine plant last April, and a lawsuit filed by his widow alleges that a critical safety mechanism had been deliberately disabled before the fatal accident. Ronald Adams, 63, died after suffering catastrophic injuries at the Dundee Engine Plant, a facility owned by the automaker Stellantis, according to court documents detailing the sequence of events.
Adams, a US Air Force veteran who had also worked at Northwest Airlines, spent two decades at the plant that produces engines for the conglomerate’s Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge and Ram brands. He was working alongside a group of colleagues to retool the facility as it prepared to begin manufacturing a new four-cylinder engine.
Left Alone at the Machine
The experienced mechanic was repairing a large industrial chamber washer, a piece of equipment that cleans engine parts, with a robotic arm ferrying components to and from the machine. According to the lawsuit, two of the coworkers assigned to the task left Adams alone to work on the machinery while they took a break.
One of them returned to find Adams’s body pinned between the robotic arm and a conveyor. A worker described the position in a statement, saying he was found “hunched over” with his right arm on the conveyor and the robotic arm pinning his right shoulder.
Workers quickly summoned paramedics and an on-site electrician to lift the arm off Adams. Three workers then joined paramedic teams to move the grandfather from the conveyor belt onto a stretcher. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. A medical examiner ruled that Adams died after suffering catastrophic crushing injuries and “traumatic asphyxia.”
A Bypassed Safety Mechanism
The lawsuit brought by Shamenia Stewart-Adams centers on how the robotic arm was able to activate while Adams was servicing the washer. According to court documents, a safety mechanism designed to protect anyone servicing the washer had been “electronically bypassed.” That bypass, the estate claims, allowed the arm to activate, pin and crush Adams.
The suit alleges there was a lack of safety guards and safe work practices at the plant when Adams was killed. Those missing measures, the filing contends, allowed the robotic arm to pin and crush Adams during what was supposed to be a repair job.
Adams was no stranger to the factory floor. His two decades at the Dundee facility, combined with his earlier work at an airline and his military service, gave him extensive experience with industrial machinery. The plant produces engines for Stellantis vehicles, and the retooling work Adams was performing was tied to preparations for a new four-cylinder engine.
The lawsuit seeks to hold the company accountable for the death, with his estate arguing that proper safeguards were not in place when Adams was working on the chamber washer last year.