So if the choice is between death and quadriplegia... I don't know about you, but I'd rather try out being a quadriplegic first, BEFORE the dying thing.
I think your understanding of the word robot is flawed. Google's driverless car is a robot. Does it really need to know what is and is not human? It's just trying to go from point A to point B. Running over things, like people, would impede this goal.