If you have an industrial machine, that might be what is suppose to happen, but they also don't take the same needle that most domestic machines take.
It's possible that the needle got bumped because the timing shifted, not the other way around, and sometimes it's both. Like if you were sewing something very thick and the needle got pulled an hit the needle plate instead of going down the hole, and the pressure caused the needle bar to slip and now the timing is off too.