Jim Lawyer
Proven VerdictsAbout Jim Lawyer
Jim Lawyer has practiced personal injury and workers' compensation law in Iowa since 1979. He is the author of definitive Iowa workers' compensation textbooks, including Iowa Workers' Compensation (Harrison Company, 1999) and Iowa Practice: Workers' Compensation (West, 2013), which judges and insurance companies consult when looking for answers on benefits and requirements. Jim has lectured before attorney groups across Iowa on topics ranging from presenting evidence at trial to understanding the role of Medicare in injury claims.
He served as past chairman of the Legal Rights Committee for the Iowa Head Injury Association. Jim received his J.D. from Drake University Law School in 1978 and his B.B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1975. He has been admitted to the Iowa bar since 1979.
Proven verdicts and settlements
An eastbound SUV drifted onto the shoulder of Iowa Highway 141 east of Sloan on November 22, 2014, overcorrected, and crossed into the westbound lane, hitting a pickup head on. Five people died, among them Myrna Malone, 70, who was riding beside her husband Larry. The at-fault driver carried too little liability coverage to pay for the losses, so Larry Malone, individually and as administrator of his wife's estate, sued the family's own underinsured motorist carrier, American Family Mutual Insurance Company, for breach of contract in Polk County. The jury's verdict form, filed September 21, 2017, valued the loss of spousal consortium at $1,300,000 and the loss of parental consortium at $250,000 for each of the couple's two adult children, $1,800,000 in all. No appeal followed.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
