What we do
We build strong client relationships. At Jarvis McGee Rice, we pride ourselves on representing our clients with compassion, understanding, and strength. We recognize that personal injury litigation is a partnership between the lawyer and client and we work to maximize your recovery and the value of your claim. We have successfully resolved thousands of claims through negotiation and litigation, including claims related to soft tissue injuries, orthopaedic injuries, neurological injuries, chronic pain, brain injuries and fatalities. MORE ABOUT JMR
How we do it
As a client of JMR Law, you access the full legal resources of our firm, including our extensive network of the top specialists and experts in the province. We work with the best experts in the fields of medicine, rehabilitation, engineering, accounting and economics to ensure that you receive full value for your claim. At JMR Law we deliver effective, responsive, and personalized legal representation. We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning our clients pay no upfront legal fees. Our account is paid from the settlement proceeds. If you recover nothing, we take no fees. OUR RECENT TRIAL JUDGMENTS
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How is a jury trial different?
Trials with a jury are different than trials that proceed by judge-alone.
Recent Trial Results
Pearson v. Savage, 2017 BCSC 1435 Jon Harbut and John Rice were trial counsel for Jessica Pearson a young woman who suffered life changing injuries in a violent head on car crash on the Sea to Sky Highway when she was only 21 years old. The crash caused Ms. Pearson to suffer severe and permanently disabling chronic pain, PTSD, depression and anxiety. ICBC defended the case, alleging at the opening of trial that Ms. Pearson suffered from significant pre-existing mental health issues and a pain disorder, relying on paid experts to advance this theory. After JMR cross examined these experts, ICBC abandoned this defense before closing its case. ICBC did however allege that Ms. Pearson was an exaggerator about the extent of her injuries and how they had impacted her life. ICBC also said Jessica had not done enough rehabilitation recommended to her. Friends, family, her boyfriend and co-workers from both before and after the accident all testified on Jessica’s behalf, along with treating doctors and clinicians and other medical experts. The trial judge categorically rejected all of ICBC’s allegations, finding Jessica to be an honest and straight forward young woman who’s life had been devastated by the car crash. She found that Jessica was permanently disabled and that her injuries profoundly impacted the trajectory of her working career. The trial judge recognized that people with severe chronic pain and depression struggle with consistently following treatment plans and that these challenges were part of the injuries the defendants visited on her life. The $1.9 million award included a precedent setting amount of $175,000 for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, over $400,000 for lifetime medical needs and supports including medication, counseling and other therapies, and $1.25 million for lifetime loss of income earning capacity. This case is one of the highest damage awards in BC history for a young adult with post-traumatic chronic pain. The full reasons for judgement can be found here.
Picton v. Fredericks, 2016 BCSC 1470 Trial Lawyers Michael Elliott and Hector MacDonald acted for Allie Picton, a 33-year-old hair stylist, who suffered injuries to her neck, back, and shoulders, as well as ongoing headaches, as a result of a motor vehicle collision. Ms. Picton’s primary ongoing complaint at the time of trial was persistent headaches which interfered with her recreational, social, and vocational activities. Ms. Picton experienced improvement, but not a total resolution of her headache complaints, by way of regular Botox injections performed by a neurologist to her neck and skull. ICBC argued that the cause of Ms. Picton’s ongoing complaints were health issues unrelated to the motor vehicle collision, and further, that she would need no significant ongoing care. The trial judge accepted our arguments and awarded Ms. Picton $326,787 including non-pecuniary damages of $85,000, past income loss of $8,500, loss of future earning capacity of $90,000, loss of housekeeping capacity of $2,000, special damages of $7,860 and future care costs of $133,427. Included in the future care award was approximately $120,000 for Ms. Picton’s ongoing need for Botox injections to treat her chronic headaches, which represents the largest award in British Columbia history for this form of treatment. The full Reasons for Judgment can be found here.
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Recent blog posts
John Rice and Hector MacDonald were trial counsel for Veronica Howell, a young UBC student who was struck by a hit and run truck while crossing the street mid-block, but the Defendant drove into oncoming traffic and was driving the wrong way when he hit her. Ms. Howell was left with a brain injury, lying on the road unconscious with a fractured skull and leaking cerebral spinal fluid from her ear. The driver fled the scene but luckily an eye witness obtained the license plate.
