Wanda Holbrook was an inexperienced maintenance worker at a manufacturing plant supplying components to the Ford Motor Company for its F-150 pickup truck. She worked on an automated assembly line watching over and repairing a series of six fastmoving robotic arms assembling and welding trailer hitch receiver assemblies. Each robot was isolated in a separate manufacturing zone surrounded by protective walls. In each zone a portion of the manufacturing process was completed. The robots were controlled by computer software from a central computer.

When one of the robotic arms in the assembly line malfunctioned, Holbrook opened a safety door, stopping the robot. She entered into the space where the robot performed its functions. However, contrary to established safety procedures, as she addressed the problem, she stepped over a low safety wall into the adjoining space where another robot was still functioning. The second robot struck Holbrook causing serious injuries and then proceeded to perform an automated welding functions which burned parts of her body. Holbrook died from these injuries.