In the News
ATLA Centerpiece Article: Slanger v. Toro Manufacturing Co.
Publication: Law Reporter (Association of Trial Lawyers of America)
Date: February 1987
Article Summary:
Thorough research, aggressive representation, and dramatic courtroom success lead to 1.6 million dollar jury verdict with no offer to settle.
Jury award for injury caused by Toro self-propelled lawnmower which suddenly self-engaged.
Family of Woman Killed in '92 Gets $1.5 Million Award
Publication: Grand Rapids Press
Date: May 21st, 1994
Article Summary:
The family of a Lowell woman killed in an August 1992 drunken driving accident will receive more than $1.5 million for the “mental anguish” suffered as a result of her death.
Kent County Circuit Judge Dennis Kolenda on Friday approved the award as part of a lawsuit settlement. The money will be paid…
Award in Mishap With Mower Rises to $1.6 Million
Publication: Grand Rapids Press
Date: May 7th, 1988
Article Summary:
A $1.3 Million Kent Circuit Court jury verdict, awarded to a Grand Rapids couple after a 1982 lawn mower accident left the husband a quadriplegic, has ballooned into a $1.6 million out-of-court settlement.
Herman Slanger, 75, and his wife, Isabelle, will receive a check for that amount from Toro Co. Monday – six years and a day after Slanger was injured. The out of court settlement is the first in the county to exceed $1 million...
Man Injured By Golf Ball Wins $350,000 Jury Award
Publication: Grand Rapids Press
Date: December 24th, 1994
Article Summary:
A Rockford area doctor whose left eye was injured by a golf ball that ricocheted of the frame of a practice net was awarded $350,000 by a Kent County jury who decided the mail order device was defective.
Dr. Mario D. Gatchalian, an anesthesiologist at Butterworth Hospital, lost 30 percent of his vision in the accident which occurred 3 years ago in the basement of his Cannon Township home.
Jury Awards $535,000 to Worker Who Lost Fingers
Publication: Grand Rapids Press
Date: May 25th, 1982
Article Summary:
A punch press operator, who lost 4 fingers in a 1976 industrial accident, will receive $535,000 from the firm which sold the machine to his company.
Carmelo Rios, 40, of Stanton, had the four fingers of his right hand instantly severed when the safety device on his punch press failed. The accident occurred at Greenville Products, a Montcalm County refrigerator manufacturer.
Wahlfield Elated As Speedy Verdict Clears Him, Real Estate Agent Tabor
Publication: Grand Rapids Press
Date: November 18th, 1988
Article Summary:
Kent County Commissioner Fritz Wahlfield saw a two year “cloud of questions” about his credibility disperse in a few minutes Thursday when he and a local real estate agent were found not guilty on felony charges.
A 12-member jury deliberated 15 minutes before announcing Wahlfield and local real estate agent Thomas Tabor not guilty on charges of conspiracy and attempted false pretenses.
Experience Speaks At Drunk Driving Defense Educational Seminar
Publication: Grand Rapids Legal News
Date: September 23rd, 2009
Article Summary:
Keary Sawyer and Mike Kelly led off a session of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) in Grand Rapids, Sept. 11th.
VLS Alumni: Three Success Stories
Publication: The Forum - Vermont Law School
Date: April 3rd, 1987
Article Summary:
Another noted alumni is Keary Sawyer '78, who practices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In November, 1986, Sawyer litigated a case in which a jury awarded his client $1.6 million dollars. Slanger v. Toro was a products liability case, in which his client fell and broke his neck after the lawnmower he was using malfunctioned.
At the time, the jury award was the largest personal injury jury verdict rendered in Kent County Circuit Court, and one of the top 100 in the history of Michigan.
This stunning courtroom victory was published nationwide in the ATLA Law Reporter as its “Centerpiece Article.”
Thorough research, aggressive representation, and dramatic courtroom success lead to 1.6 million dollar jury verdict with no offer to settle.
