Public liability insurance holders have been warned about the dangers of workplace machinery after an employee was injured by a manufacturing robot.
Birmingham Crown Court heard how in May 2008, Michael Brewer was struck while trying to carry out repairs to a fully-automated industrial robot.
Castle Bromwich-based Dura Automotive Body and Glass Systems was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs.
It has left him with a damaged voice box and almost paralysed down one side of his body.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the firm had viewing the operating cycle from inside a guarded area had become common practice, while the risk assessment which it had produced was not sufficient.
Edward Fryer, HSE inspector, said: "There was a culture of violation in this factory and it is very sad that it took an almost fatal accident for the company to identify this."
Earlier this month, I2R Packaging Solutions, based in Telford, was fined £10,000 after a worker lost parts of three fingers in machinery.