Personal Injury/Torts
With more than 30 years of experience as a trial judge and full-time neutral, Judge Kennedy has handled thousands of personal injury and tort claims. That background has given him a deep understanding of the crucial issues and nuances of creatively settling personal injury disputes. He is able to provide all sides with frank assessments of their cases, even if it means saying something a party doesn’t want to hear. At the same time, he is courteous, patient, and understanding of the emotional aspects involved in personal injury matters. Plaintiff, defense and insurance counsel have come to trust him with their cases, ranging from straightforward claims to those involving complex issues and catastrophic injuries.
Comments about Judge Kennedy from Personal Injury Attorneys
- All of my experiences with Judge Kennedy have been positive. He is friendly and has the ability to suck you in. He has tremendous experience with the San Bernardino Court and community. Judge Kennedy has a frank way of telling the parties what they can expect. --Attorney specializing in Complex Personal Injury
- Judge Kennedy is a nice person; he treats lawyers with courtesy, patience, diplomacy and tact. He's smart, knows what the issues are and quickly recognizes strengths and weaknesses of a case. He doesn't use a saw to cut the baby in half. Judge Kennedy has the courage to make a ruling without worrying about his next meal ticket. He's not worried about being politically correct. He is the first judge that walks on water without getting his feet wet. --Attorney specializing in Complex Personal Injury (Product Liability)
Representative Matters
- Mass tort claims: All tort claims arising from a fire, followed by a flood, which damaged or destroyed dozens of homes in San Bernardino in 1980; More than 300 tort claims arising from the train derailment and subsequent pipeline explosion in Cajon Pass in 1989
- Airplane crash and crashworthiness cases involving both helicopter and fixed wing aircraft
- Dozens of governmental tort claim cases
- Dozens of medical and legal malpractice cases
- Dozens of premises liability cases
- Dozens of product liability cases
- Dozens of cases involving minors or incompetents and many involving special needs trusts
- Hundreds of automotive accident cases
- Many toxic tort cases
- Many claims of false arrest and/or excessive use of force (against law enforcement and private defendants)
