Roisin Kennedy

Roisin represents both claimants and defendants.  She has significant experience in a broad range of personal injury cases including:

• Road traffic accidents
• Severe orthopaedic injuries
• Brain injury
• Chronic pain
• Fraud/fundamental dishonesty
• Employers liability
• Occupiers Liability
• Product Liability
• Claims under the Animals Act, 1971
• Fatal accidents
• Inquests

Recent examples of cases include:

• Instructed on behalf of a Defendant insurer in a six-figure claim arising from a road traffic accident. The Defendant obtained surveillance evidence which strongly indicated that the Claimant was exaggerating her injury.  Roisin successfully applied to amend the Defence to plead fraud and fundamental dishonesty and to serve an amended Counter Schedule of Loss.  The Application was successful.  The Claimant subsequently accepted an earlier Part 36 offer of approximately 10% of the pleaded value of her claim.
• Instructed on behalf of the Defendant insurer in a six figure claim arising from a head-on collision between a cyclist and a car. Liability is admitted.  The claim includes a claim for future loss of earnings in excess of £500,000.  Medical causation is disputed.
• Instructed on behalf of the Claimant in a six-figure claim involving fibromyalgia. Involves complex medical causation issues.
• Instructed in a fatal accident claim on behalf of the dependant adult son of a multi-millionaire businessman killed in a helicopter crash. Secured a multi-million pound settlement.  Led by senior counsel.
• Instructed on behalf of a child claimant who sustained significant, permanent injury arising from an accident caused by defective play equipment in a children’s playground. Successfully brought a claim under the Consumer Protection Act, 1987.
• Instructed on behalf of the estate of the deceased who died following a failure to diagnose a fracture to her neck. Liability was disputed.  Secured a reasonable settlement agreement.
• Instructed on behalf of the Defendant, a Spanish company. The Defendant managed a villa in Mallorca in which there was an outbreak of Legionnaires.  Assisted in negotiating a pragmatic settlement for the Defendant.
• Roisin has recently been instructed on behalf of both claimants and defendants in claims brought under the Animals Act, 1971 arising from injury caused by dog attacks.
• Instructed on behalf of the Defendant in a claim arising from an alleged injury at work resulting in a significant permanent shoulder injury allegedly caused by manoeuvring heavy gas cylinders. Successfully defended the claim.
• Instructed on behalf of multiple claimants in claims for noise induced hearing loss arising from noise exposure from loud weapons sustained whilst serving in the military. Many of these claims are high value due to the severity of the hearing loss suffered and the Claimants’ relatively young age.

Roisin was recently seconded to a specialist clinical negligence team in a leading firm of solicitors.  Here she gained considerable experience in a broad spectrum of clinical negligence work ranging from cosmetic negligence and dental claims including laser treatment, breast augmentation surgery, blepharoplasty surgery and tummy tucks, to cases of unnecessary and negligent surgery, non-disclosure of risk, and delayed diagnosis of spinal fractures resulting in severe cauda equina syndrome.

Roisin has recently been instructed on behalf of claimants in a number of clinical negligence claims including:

• Negligent surgery involving tummy tuck, hip and knee surgeries
• Failure/delay in diagnosis and treatment
• Complex medical causation issues

Roisin is a member of Chambers’ International & Travel Group. Recent work includes: advising on jurisdictional and limitation arguments arising from accidents in hotels and road traffic accidents abroad; advising on service of documents on a Turkish third party in a claim involving a fatal ballooning accident in Turkey; and, drafting a defence pleading Chinese limitation law.

Roisin has considerable experience of fraudulent and exaggerated personal injury claims where careful and thorough cross-examination is required. She regularly advises and acts on behalf of defendants in claims arising from staged or “LVI” road traffic accidents. She is very familiar with issues surrounding the use of surveillance evidence and contempt of court.

Roisin represents families and other interested parties at all types of inquests.  Roisin recently attended a three-day inquest, instructed on behalf of the local authority, into the death by drowning of a young man with autism and epilepsy in a leisure centre swimming pool.  She also recently attended a five-day inquest on behalf of the family of the deceased in circumstances where the deceased sustained fatal head injuries at work whilst dismantling a faulty vehicle lift.

Roisin has extensive experience in credit hire litigation and is frequently instructed in high value credit hire claims. She is fully familiar with the frequently argued issues of rate, impecuniosity, need and period.

University of Oxford, BA Jurisprudence 2002 – 2005

Called to the Bar of England and Wales, 2006

Called to the Northern Ireland Bar, 2009

Inner Temple

Bar of Northern Ireland

Professional Negligence Bar Association

Personal Injury Bar Association

South Eastern Circuit