About Kari J. La Fratta
ari is a trial attorney in the Charlottesville office of Allen & Allen with a background in insurance and medical malpractice defense. Kari understands the importance of effective communication, both in her relationships with clients and in the courtroom. She focuses her practice on personal injury cases and is dedicated to fighting for the seriously injured. Prior to joining Allen & Allen, Kari represented defendants and insurance companies in cases involving medical malpractice, wrongful death, automobile accidents, premises liability, and products liability.
Her background gives her unique insight into how insurance companies handle personal injury claims. Further, Kari has experience in federal court, having argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on an issue that was ultimately considered by the United States Supreme Court. Kari has been named by Super Lawyers as a Virginia Rising Star from 2020 to 2023. She was a double-major in Economics and Political Science at the University of Georgia.
She earned her J.D. at the University of Richmond School of Law, where she was a member of the Trial Advocacy Board. Kari grew up in southwest Virginia, where she was very involved in high school athletics. She has held state records in both basketball and volleyball. In her free time, she enjoys snow skiing, golfing, scuba diving, boating, and travel.
Proven verdicts and settlements at Allen Allen Allen & Allen
These results are credited to Allen Allen Allen & Allen. A result appears under an attorney's own name only when a published source names them as counsel on the case.
A Hampton jury awarded Christopher Denton $25 million after a cardiologist read his cardiac test results as normal, diagnosed a minor heart infection, and sent him home on over-the-counter medication, months before Denton suffered a massive heart attack that left him functioning with roughly half his cardiac capacity.
A Richmond jury awarded $23 million to a commercial truck driver who suffered a traumatic brain injury, crushed pelvis, and right-leg amputation when a Moen Inc. tractor-trailer parked in the emergency lane of I-295 pulled back into traffic and was struck by his rig at highway speed.
A speeding Allied Concrete truck tipped onto a car on the Thomas Jefferson Parkway in June 2007, killing Jessica Lester and injuring her husband. A Charlottesville jury in December 2010 awarded her widower and her parents $10.58 million in total. The trial court cut the widower's wrongful death award, and the Supreme Court of Virginia reinstated the full verdict in January 2013.
A Fredericksburg jury awarded $6.5 million to a young attorney left with permanent spinal cord damage after his primary care physician repeatedly dismissed neurological symptoms without examination, producing what was then reported as the largest medical malpractice verdict in Virginia history. The award was reduced to $1.55 million under the state damages cap, and the judgment was later reversed on an evidentiary ruling, sending the case back for a retrial on causation and damages.
A 40-year-old motorcyclist lost his left leg below the knee after a driver turned left across his path on U.S. Route 1 in Ashland, Virginia. The trial judge ruled the driver negligent as a matter of law and struck the contributory negligence defense, leaving only damages for the jury. On November 20, 2025, a Hanover County jury awarded $6 million after about 30 minutes of deliberation. The defendant has noted an appeal.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
Practice areas
Education
Bar admissions & credentials
Other attorneys at Allen Allen Allen & Allen
View firm →
