Salt Lake City, UT Lawyers

Medical Malpractice Law

36 South State Street, Ste. 2400, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

One of the nation’s most distinguished and active trial lawyers, Michael Worel has developed a significant record in both the number of cases and the size of jury awards and settlements for catastrophic personal injury and medical malpractice throughout his long career as a lawyer, most recently within the last decade at Dewsnup King Olsen Worel Havas. One of the most highly recognized referral attorneys sought by colleagues across the country, Mr. Worel, along with co-counsels, has amassed many successful major verdicts, including a record $11.2 million award in Utah for a medical malpractice case on behalf of a man seriously injured during a non-indicated brain surgery. In 2014, along with co-counsels, he won for his client a record-setting arbitration award in a medical malpractice case regarding a sciatic injury that occurred during a lithotripsy procedure. With meticulous precision, he evaluates the underlying events of each case. He proceeds with a medical malpractice case only when it has been supported by highly qualified experts. He recognizes that the defendants in the cases he handles rely on the enormous resources of their insurers that will aggressively defend cases even when there is no merit. Despite the financial resources of the insurance companies supporting the defendants, he has continued to achieve success at trial due to his commitment to justice and his clients. Worel has been the lead attorney in many major cases, including a 2018 jury verdict in Utah for a woman with CO poisoning from a car she purchased, a 2014 jury verdict in Mobile, Alabama resulting in a $4 million award for a part time farm worker severely injured by an auger while digging post holes. Other major verdicts include $3.1 million in Utah for a wife and two daughters following the death of their husband and father in a trucking accident case and a $1.4 million verdict for a Cache County, Utah, family regarding the wrongful death of their wife and mother due to a surgeon’s negligence during and after a hernia repair. Licensed to practice in state and federal courts in Utah, Alabama and Georgia, he obtained a verdict of $1.6 million for a turkey farmer in Moroni, Utah, who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury when he was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler pulling two trailers of milk. At trial, Mr. Worel was able to show that, at the time of the collision, the other driver was on the phone with the home office, which caused him to be distracted while driving. A few years earlier, in Mobile Alabama, he received a verdict of $20 million for the family of a 32-year-old wife and mother of two who died after receiving improper anesthesia care prior to an elective laparoscopic exploratory surgery. He is widely recruited to speak before his colleagues on medical malpractice and negligence, and trial practices including the effective tactics for depositions from experts for the plaintiffs as well as handling experts for the defense, and other areas of complex civil litigation. Board certified as a civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, he is a long-time regular honoree as among the Best Lawyers in America listing since 2003 in both personal injury and medical malpractice litigation. Within the first few years he moved from Alabama to Utah, he was named by Best Lawyers as Salt Lake City Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year (2010) and has been named lawyer of the year in personal injury litigation for Salt Lake City. (2015). In 2007 Mr. Worel was named one of 500 Leading Plaintiff’s Lawyers in America in Law Dragon, Inc. He is also listed in The Best of the U.S., L.L.C. and Super Lawyers. The American Trial Lawyers Association has voted him one of the top 100 trial lawyers in Utah. Before joining Dewsnup King Olsen Worel Havas, he was a partner at Cunningham Bounds in Mobile, Alabama, one of the southeast U.S. most prominent firms in civil litigation, during a tenure that spanned a quarter of a century. He also is committed to several prominent community organizations, including serving on the boards of directors for Big Brothers, Big Sisters; YMCA; Victory Health Partners, a nonprofit health clinic for uninsured patients, the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, and KPCW-FM, a local nonprofit radio station.

Family and Divorce Law

405 South Main Street, Suite 900, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Taryn grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. After attending the Air Force Academy and playing division one soccer, she attended the University of Utah and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She began her legal career as a legal assistant while finishing her undergraduate degree, working mostly on criminal law, family law, and miscellaneous civil litigation matters. After gaining knowledge and encouragement from her mentors, she attended the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. She graduated from law school in 2013, earning her Juris Doctorate with highest honors. Taryn began one of Utah’s former larger and oldest law firms, Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough, as a law clerk during the summer before her last year of law school. Taryn continued to work as a law clerk at Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough during her third year of law school. Following her graduation from law school, Taryn was hired by Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough as an associate attorney. After working as an associate attorney at Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough for approximately 7 years, she was promoted and became a shareholder. Many attorneys at Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough mentored Taryn in her first decade of practicing law. Taryn stayed at Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough until April 2022. For the remainder of 2022, Taryn worked as a lawyer at a small family law firm. In late December 2022 to early January 2023, Taryn was excited to announce her decision to open her current law firm Adair Evans with her partner, Douglas Adair. From the start of her legal career, Taryn has always worked on family law related matters. Initially, while at Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough, Taryn did split her litigation time between general commercial litigation matters and family law. Taryn now devotes nearly all of her time and practice to family law—her chosen field and practice which she is passionate about. Taryn is dedicated to helping people navigate the harsh waters of domestic litigation, seeking to assist clients in getting the best results possible