Contact Info
Email: norm@patientinjury.com
Direct Line: 801-531-8900
Fax: 801-531-1716

Norman J. Younker

Norman Younker works exclusively in the area of plaintiff's tort law where he represents individuals in medical malpractice and personal injury actions, and in death, brain and spinal cord injury claims. Before joining Fabian in 1988, he worked for seven years representing Intermountain Health Care, Inc. and other defendants in medical malpractice actions.

Practice Areas
Professional
Representative Projects
Education
Publications & Presentations
Community Service

Complex Litigation

Member, Board of Governors for the Utah Trial Lawyers Association, 1990-Present (now known as Utah Association for Justice)
Member, American Bar Association's Tort and Insurance Practice Section and the Medicine and Law Committee, 1995-Present
Board member, Salt Lake Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, 1999-2009; Board member, Brigham Young University Law School Alumni Association, 1991-1993
Admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona
Admitted to Utah State Bar; United States District Court for the District of Utah; United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 1982
President, Utah Trial Lawyers Association, 1996-1998; (now known as Utah Association for Justice)
Member, Division of Professional Licensing Prelitigation Task Force, Utah State Department of Business Regulation, 1994-1995
Editor, Utah Trial Journal, 1989-1992
Member, Utah State Bar Association's Medical Legal Committee, 1988-1990
Editor, Health Law in Utah, 1987-1988

Successfully represented the parents of a newborn infant who died at a major regional medical center, allegedly as a result of inappropriate labor and delivery care
Represented the heirs of a deceased wage earner in a wrongful death action for failure of an urgent care facility to timely and appropriately diagnose and treat symptoms of cardiac ischemia
Obtained a successful settlement against the medical center for injury caused by an employed orthopedic surgeon which resulted in the need for a total hip replacement
Represented 13 members of a dental association and their families in complex litigation arising out of their loss of group health insurance benefits
Successfully prosecuted a medical malpractice action for damages resulting from nerve injury and partial paralysis to a 26-year-old dance instructor allegedly caused by improper positioning during OB/GYN surgery
Represented the surviving husband and two minor children for injuries arising from the wrongful death of a woman whose attending physicians allegedly failed to timely diagnose and treat a developing respiratory and infectious disorder
Represented the parents of a minor child in medical malpractice litigation to recover damages for life time complications due to a pediatrician's alleged failure to timely diagnose and treat bilateral hip dislocations
Settlement for failure by general surgeon to timely and appropriately diagnose and treat prostate cancer
Successfully litigated a case for failure to diagnose and treat colon cancer in a 46-year-old female patient. Plaintiff alleged a history of bleeding and bowel changes over a nine month period before a GI workup was ordered
Recovered a significant settlement in a legal action against a general surgeon for allegedly stapling the ampulla vater and common bile duct during surgery to correct peptic ulcer disease
Successfully litigated a wrongful death action for failure by the hospital emergency room physician and hospital emergency room personnel to timely and appropriately diagnose and treat a perforated duodenal ulcer
Complex medical malpractice action arising out of the alleged failure of an emergency room physician to diagnose a traumatic injury to the retina and vitreous of a patient's right eye. The failure eventually resulted in a loss of vision in that eye
Successfully litigated and concluded a wrongful death action for the failure of an urgent care center physician to diagnose and treat symptoms of cardiac ischemia
Products Liability/Medical Malpractice action alleging the negligent and defective design, manufacture and implantation of an experimental subtotal dome hip replacement device
Obtained an $800,000 jury verdict for negligent performance of a laparoscopic gallbladder surgery which resulted in injury to the patient's common bile duct
Successfully represented the guardian ad litems of a minor patient in a medical malpractice action for brain injury and right-sided paresthesia, allegedly resulting from failure to timely and appropriately diagnose and treat a uterine constriction band and to perform a timely and appropriate cesarean section
Won a significant settlement for the surviving spouse of a patient who died as a result of the claimed failure by emergency room physicians to timely diganose and treat an aortic aneurysm
Successful prosecution on behalf of surviving children of a man who died the day following his treatment at an emergency room. Original complaint included symptoms of cardiac ischemia, and an EKG examination was strongly suggestive of cardiac disease
Successfully litigated a case that was settled on the claim that a pulmonologist at physician clinic failed to diagnose and treat lung cancer even though the plaintiff complained of respiratory changes, and x-ray examinations showed a slow-growing spot on one of her lungs. The plaintiff eventually died of lung cancer

Post Doctoral Studies in Law, St. Edmund's House, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, 1981-1982
J.D., Cum Laude, Brigham Young University, 1978
B.S., Magna Cum Laude, Utah State University. History major with a minor in Instructional Media and Emphasis in Secondary Education, 1978

Speaker, "Handling the Expert's Expert, Selection, Preparation, Direct and Cross-Examination," S. J. Quinney College of Law, Utah, 2003-2004 Downtown CLE Series, March 10, 2004
Speaker, "Effective Expert Depositions in Medical Malpractice Actions, Utah Trial Lawyers Association, October 3, 2003
Speaker, "Tort Law," Salt Lake Community College Paralegal Class, November 19, 2002
Speaker, "Depositions of Expert Witnesses," Fabian & Clendenin Practice Pointers Presentation, February 13, 2001
Speaker, "The Plaintiff's Injury Case: Peaks and Pitfalls, Expert Practitioner Perspectives on Insurance, Case Development and Evaluation, Medical Issues and Settlement," Law & Justice Center, October 5, 2000
Speaker, "The Experts Analyze Brain Damaged Baby Cases Two," co-sponsored by the American Bar Association and the University of California, Davis Health System, September 23-25, 1999, San Francisco, CA; Member, Advisory Group
Speaker, Practical Practice Pointers - "Dealing Ethically with Difficult Clients," Utah Trial Lawyers Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 17, 1999
Author, "Utah's Constitution Contains Fundamental Principles of Happiness," Utah Trial Journal, 1998
Speaker, Straight Talk on Tough Issues - "Giving and Receiving Referrals: Both Sides of the Coin," Utah Trial Lawyers Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 19, 1997
Speaker, Effective Case Development - "Finding and Selecting Experts," Utah Trial Lawyers Association, September 20, 1996
Medical Malpractice Prelitigation Panel Review, "Learn How to Increase Your Effectiveness as a Panel member or Participant," Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing Preligtigation Section and Prelitigation Task Force, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 20, 1995
Speaker, "What's It Worth? Helping Plaintiffs' Attorneys Evaluate Their Cases," Utah Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, Salt Lake City, Utah, December 8, 1994
Speaker, "Risk Management and Medical Malpractice for Emergency Room Nurses - the Perspective of a Plaintiffs' Lawyer," Primary Children's Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 27, 1994
Moderator of Panel Discussion, "Medical Malpractice Claims by Minors, Utah Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 29, 1994
Speaker, "Working Up Damages in the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case," Head Injury Association of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 25, 1994
Speaker, "Medical Malpractice in Utah - Surviving the Jungle II," Utah Trial Lawyers Association Luncheon, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1994
Speaker, "Direct Examination of Economic Experts," Utah Trial Lawyers Association, Utah Courtroom Seminar and Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 17, 1993
Speaker, "How to Choose, Evaluate and Negotiate a Successful Settlement of a Tort Case, Including Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution," Lorman Educational Seminars, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 9, 1993
Speaker, "Medical Malpractice in Utah - Surviving the Jungle," Utah Trial Lawyers Association Luncheon Presentation, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1993
Speaker, "Learn to Effectively Evaluate and Settle Personal Injury Claims," Professional Education Systems, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, October 16, 1992
Author, "Where is the 'Screening' in Utah's Prelitigation Screening Process," Utah Trial Journal, Fall, 1990
Author, "Malpractice Actions Against Medical Students, Interns and Residents," Utah Trial Journal, February, 1989
Co-Author (written with Michael L. Chidester), "Rules Covering Shared Fees Joint Responsibility, Utah Trial Journal, July, 1989
In addition to the foregoing, Norman has lectured on health care, risk management and medical malpractice to local civic clubs, hospital medical and nursing staffs, and risk management groups. He has written on these subjects for local newspapers and appeared on local talk radio shows

Member, Advisory Board, Utah Trial Layers Association (now Utah Justice Association), 2005-Present
Member, Advisory Board, University of California-Davis, Center Medicine: Law International Symposia, 2002-Present
Member, American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Medicine and Law Committee, 1995-Present
Member, Board of Governors, Utah Trial Lawyers Association, 1990-2005
Board member, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Salt Lake Chapter, 1999-2004
President, Utah Trial Lawyers Assocation, 1996-1998
Member, Utah State Department of Business Regulation, Division of Professional Licensing Prelitigation Task Force, 1994-1995
Board member, Brigham Young University Law School Alumni Association, 1991-1993
Member, Utah State Bar Association Medical Legal Committee, 1988-1990