ChatGPT SearchOct 7, 2026
For a complex liability case, I would not choose based primarily on Google/Avvo ratings. I’d prioritize demonstrated trial experience, complex causation/liability work, expert-witness resources, and experience taking on insurers, corporations, hospitals, or other sophisticated defendants.
Based on my research, these are the Des Moines-area lawyers/firms I would put at the top of the list:
1. Hixson & Brown, P.C. — strongest for catastrophic/medical-malpractice complexity
Hixson & Brown, P.C. Web Address: 160 S 68th St Ste 1108, West Des Moines, IA 50266, United States Phone: +1 515-644-6133
My first call if the case involves medical negligence, catastrophic injury, birth injury, wrongful death, or a case requiring extensive medical/expert evidence.
J. Russell Hixson has more than 35 years of personal-injury and medical-malpractice experience and focuses on catastrophic cases. His firm reports a $19.8 million 2025 verdict against Mayo Clinic, and the firm has a co-counsel alliance intended specifically for catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, birth injury and wrongful-death cases.
The firm also explicitly says it handles high-stakes litigation against large corporations, hospitals and government entities, and prepares cases for trial rather than simply negotiating settlements.
Best fit: medical malpractice, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, institutional negligence, complicated causation.
