Chris
Spaulding

Attorney

Linkedin Envelope

Bar Admissions

1991

State of Iowa

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa

Memberships

Polk County Bar Association Member

Iowa State Bar Association Member

Iowa Trial Lawyer’s Association Member

Iowa Association of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Member

Favorable Outcomes

View
Chris' Favorable Outcomes
  • Chris has tried approximately three hundred (300) workers’ compensation cases.
    •  
  • Chris has tried approximately thirty (30) jury cases.
    •  
  • Chris handled the Supreme Court case of Neil v. Annette Holdings which stands for the proposition that an insurance company cannot cut off benefits for an injured worker who lives out of state for failing to return to Des Moines for “light-duty.”
    •  
  • As a result of the Neil case, Annette continued their conduct which the Supreme Court Ruled to be illegal. Therefore, a class action case against Annette Holdings was recently certified by a Polk County District Court Judge and is currently before the Supreme Court of Iowa.
    •  
  • Chris also handled the Supreme Court case of Winnebago v. Haverly which stands for the proposition that an insurance company cannot direct an injured workers’ medical treatment and deny the injured worker weekly benefits.
    •  
  • Bad faith jury verdict resulting in a compensatory award and punitive damages award of $175,000.
    •  
  • Personal injury verdict in excess of $400,000 (because this verdict exceeded the uninsured policy limits, Chris later obtained $50,000 for the bad faith claim).
    •  
  • Workers’ Compensation settlement which exceeded one (1) million dollars.
    •  
  • Propane explosion case which involved multiple Plaintiffs and Defendants which resulted in a total settlement exceeding four (4) million dollars.
    •  
  • Multiple personal injury cases settled in excess of $500,000.
    •  
  • Multiple workers’ compensation cases settled in excess of $500,000.

Education

1991

Drake University Law School
Des Moines, Iowa
Juris Doctor

1987

University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Bachelor of Arts
Majors: History, Political Science

Favorite movies

“The Shining”
“Caddyshack”
“The Wolf of Wallstreet”
“The Big Short”

Favorite Bands

The Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin
The Grateful Dead
Radiohead
Jack White
The Black Keys

Chris was born in Muscatine, Iowa on April 4, 1965. His father moved him and his mother to Cedar Falls shortly after his birth to finish up his undergraduate studies at UNI. His mother worked as a beautician and at a grocery store to help his father get through school, along with the GI bill.

His family moved to Des Moines when his father started law school. After graduation from high school, the family moved to the east side of Des Moines. Chris attended Garton Elementary, Goodrell Middle School and graduated from East High School in 1983. Before graduating high school, and in fact while still in grade school, he wanted to be an attorney like his father. He wanted to attend the University of Iowa where he was already a big fan of their football and basketball teams. Chris also wanted to go to law school where his father graduated, Drake University.

After graduating law school, Chris was hired by the Hedberg Law Firm, where he was fortunate to have a number of mentors, who helped him tremendously as a young attorney. In 2000, after nearly ten (10) years at the Hedberg Law Firm, Chris decided to start his own firm. That firm of Berg, Rouse, Spaulding & Schmidt has transitioned to Spaulding & Shaull, which officially opened on February 1, 2019.

Chris is known as an aggressive litigator and advocate for his clients. He has taken up various legal issues that he believed in and made new law in the areas of medical care rights for injured workers in the state of Iowa in the Haverly Decision, and rights of injured workers in Iowa with regard to their entitlement to healing period benefits in the case of Neil v. TMC.

In addition to primarily focusing on personal injury cases and workers’ compensation cases on behalf of individuals, Chris also does civil litigation. In fact, Chris was one of the first lawyers in the State of Iowa to handle workers’ compensation bad faith bases, where he has obtained a number of successful settlements on behalf of his clients. Chris also tried a bad faith case, Buhmeyer v. New Holland, which resulted in a Plaintiff’s verdict and a substantial punitive damage award.

After thirty-one (31) years of practice, Chris still enjoys what he does, and remains passionate about the rights of ordinary Iowans.

I want to even the playing field for those Iowans who find themselves injured at work or injured as a result of the carelessness by somebody else."

"I had Christopher Spaulding handle a very involved, permanent injury, workers' compensation case. It was a long and difficult case. I couldn't be more pleased with the way Chris Spaulding went after the case and won!"
B.B.Asbury, IA
LEGAL ASSISTANT
Susan Broughton
VIEW BIO

Get in touch with Chris

Practice Areas

Quick Links

© 2022 Spaulding & Shaull, P.L.C. All rights reserved.

Facebook Twitter Linkedin
Close Menu