Dale A. Curriden

Dale A. Curriden is the President of The Van Winkle Law Firm and has successfully tried numerous lawsuits to verdict. Since joining the firm in 1997, he has successfully defended physicians and medical practices against claims of negligence and professional malpractice and represented clients’ interests in matters concerning personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, workplace accidents, insurance coverage, commercial leases, employment, construction, and professional licensing. He regularly appears in Federal and North Carolina courts at the trial and appellate levels and in numerous administrative and licensing venues. He has also been a member of the Bar of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians since 2002, where he appears regularly at the trial and appellate levels and has successfully defended the Tribe’s sovereignty and other interests in claims involving personal injury, real property, and employment.

Practice Areas

• Administrative & Regulatory Law
• Healthcare
• Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Commercial Litigation
• Mediation & Arbitration
• Construction & Professional Design
• Federal Indian & Tribal Law

Awards & Honors

• The Best Lawyers in America® – Lawyer of the Year (Asheville);
  • Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants – 2024
  • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants – 2023
  • Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
  • Commercial Litigation

• North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2013-2016, 2018-2020
• Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award, Buncombe County Bar, 2002, 2015
• The Best Lawyers In America 2025

Practice Highlights

• Won a defense verdict in favor of a cardiothoracic surgeon accused of negligence related to a coronary artery bypass surgery.
• Won a defense verdict in favor of multiple physicians and an academic medical center in a $24 million birth injury case.
• Won a defense verdict in favor of an OB/GYN surgeon accused of negligence after a patient suffered bilateral ligation of her ureters during a hysterectomy.
• Won defense verdicts in multiple trials of chiropractors accused of negligence and causing vertebral artery dissections and resulting strokes following manipulation of the cervical spine.
• Won a defense verdict in favor of an internal medicine physician accused of negligence after a patient died from a pain medication overdose.
• Won a defense verdict in favor of two general surgeons accused of negligence in managing a patient with a small bowel perforation following gall bladder surgery.
• Won a defense verdict in favor of emergency department providers accused of negligence in managing a patient with sepsis.
• Won a defense verdict in favor of a general surgeon accused of negligence in causing an injury to the common bile duct during gall bladder surgery.
• Won partial summary judgment and a defense verdict in a case against a local non-profit organization accused of violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act.
• Won dismissals of multiple claims against a Native American tribe, based on sovereign immunity and other defenses, in claims involving personal injury, real property, and employment.