Recognizing that each client’s case is the most important case in the world to that client, Kirk Becchi rolls up his sleeves and gets to work. Kirk manages the firm’s Harrisonburg office and represents clients in the entire Central Virginia area as a Harrisonburg Personal Injury Lawyer. Kirk has been representing persons and companies in state and federal courtrooms across Virginia, and in other states, for over 30 years. He has decades of experience as a personal injury attorney. In 2022, Kirk was recognized as a Super Lawyer in personal injury, an honor reserved for 5% of attorneys, and he was listed in Super Lawyers Magazine.
Before moving to Harrisonburg in 2003, Kirk spent about 17 years practicing with law firms located in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. He began his career as an insurance defense attorney; meaning he defended persons and entities in civil lawsuits. During that time, he practiced with regional and national law firms. That experience afforded Kirk immediate and extensive courtroom experience. After that, Kirk joined a law firm which practices intellectual property law, including litigation. He was part of a team of litigators who represented international clients in intellectual property litigation in multiple federal courts throughout the United States.
In 2003, Kirk accepted a position to manage the Harrisonburg office of a multi-office regional plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm. Later, he opened MartinWren, P.C.’s Harrisonburg office and has been managing the Harrisonburg office ever since. Kirk also maintains an office in MartinWren, P.C.’s Charlottesville location and regularly represents clients in the Charlottesville area as well.
Kirk began litigating medical malpractice cases, involving life-altering injuries or death, in 2003. At first, his practice focused on abuse and neglect in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Later, he expanded his practice to include malpractice claims against negligent doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers.
Although Kirk spends considerable time representing clients in cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice, and other civil litigation, he has expanded his practice to include the defense of reckless driving charges. He also litigates estate disputes.
Some cases simply have to be resolved by trial, and Kirk is fully prepared to litigate his clients’ cases. However, recognizing that the vast majority of cases are settled prior to trial, Kirk’s first approach in attempting to resolve his clients’ cases is often through settlement negotiations. Settlement techniques generally are not taught in law school, but Kirk has been negotiating cases for over three decades. Kirk routinely negotiates with opposing attorneys, insurance adjusters and/or other decision makers. He keeps his clients informed of the status of negotiations, and makes recommendations on strategy.
Sometimes direct settlement negotiations are not successful and/or are simply inadvisable. In those circumstances, Kirk is prepared to mediate his clients’ cases before a neutral third party, often a retired judge, and Kirk has extensive experience working with both private and court appointed mediators.
For some cases a trial is necessary. Kirk has successfully tried many cases to verdict. He has tried cases in numerous local counties and cities, as well as several more distant venues, both inside and outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. Kirk has conducted trials in Circuit Courts and General District Courts across many parts of Virginia, and he has experience trying cases before both judges and juries. He respects and appreciates the need to help guide clients through the confusing and sometimes obscure legal system, while striving to reach the best possible results in their matters.
When not practicing law, Kirk enjoys spending time with his wife and two grown children, outdoor activities, reading historical non-fiction, and playing with his always enthusiastic dog.
SAMPLE REPRESENTATIONS
- $1,000,000.00 settlement in collision case involving a tractor-trailer and another large commercial vehicle
- Verdict of slightly less than $1,000,000.00 in compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs, pursuant to Virginia Code §8.01-40.4, in a lawsuit arising from the defendant secretly filming a woman while she was undressed
- $750,000.00 settlement in tractor-trailer collision case
- $550,000.00 wrongful death settlement against an individual for negligently retaining and storing a firearm, which was used by a third party to fatally shoot the victim
- Confidential significant settlement, achieved by working with two other MartinWren attorneys, in a medical malpractice case involving the failure to administer a RhoGAM injection during pregnancy
- Significant settlement for a woman whose future pregnancies will be high risk due to healthcare provider’s failure to administer RhoGAM injection
- Represented client who suffered nerve damage to her arm as the result of physician attempting to surgically remove a birth control implant from the arm
- Represented plaintiff who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a motor vehicle collision
- Represented plaintiff who suffered facial scarring in a motor vehicle collision
- Represented the victim of a non-fatal electrocution who suffered complex regional pain syndrome
- Represented the estate of a 100-year-old nursing home resident who died as the result of receiving the wrong medication
- $220,000.00 settlement for nursing home resident who suffered fractures in wheelchair fall
- Represented plaintiff injured in collision while riding his motorcycle
- Represented plaintiff seriously injured as a result of being hit by a vehicle while riding his bicycle
- Represented pedestrians struck by motor vehicles
- Represented the victim of sexual assault and harassment in the workplace
RECKLESS DRIVING
Many people do not realize, until they receive a citation, that reckless driving is a serious offense in Virginia. It is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Penalties may include jail time, suspension of driving privileges, and significant fines. Kirk regularly represents persons charged with reckless driving in Harrisonburg/Rockingham, Charlottesville, and Albemarle. He also represents clients in the local Federal Courts.
