A Note from the Webmaster: The Law Offices of Edward F. Wallace, P.C. would like to welcome Jeff Van Dell to our team. Jeff is a paralegal who started here in January 2009. Below is Jeff’s first blog.

What comes to your mind when I mention the biblical Book of Exodus? Iconic images from the movie “The Ten Commandments” of Charlton Heston playing Moses holding up his staff as God parts the Red Sea? Maybe you remember a Sunday school teacher describing the plagues God visited upon the Egyptians; the Nile turning to blood, hailstones wiping out their crops, or the death of every firstborn creature.

Although the Book of Exodus deals with the fledgling nation of Israel’s journey out of slavery and into the Promised Land, there are some very practical principles that allowed this group of former slaves to live together as a community and deal with the inevitable conflict that arises in every culture. Many of these principles transcend time and culture and have been adopted into our system of law. Three specific concepts that we deal with the field of personal injury are negligence, damages, and restitution.

Moses gives an example of how this dynamic plays out in Exodus 22:33-34. “If a man uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must pay for the loss; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.”

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We all know how expensive medical treatment can be and how easy it is to rack up the bills. This scenario becomes all the more apparent when someone is the victim of a motor vehicle accident and suffers debilitating injuries. Given the high cost of affordable health insurance, there is a way to protect yourself against skyrocketing health costs associated with a motor vehicle accident.

Did you know that for relatively short money (e.g. $15 to $25 depending on your insurance company) you can add optional Medical Payments coverage on your automobile insurance policy? Medical Payment insurance covers the reasonable and necessary medical expenses incurred as a result of a motor vehicle accident involving any of the following people:

• Anyone who is occupying your vehicle at the time of the accident with consent (including you or a household member) and
• You or any household member if struck by an automobile as a pedestrian or if occupying someone else’s vehicle at the time of the accident with consent.

Optional Medical Payments coverage is usually purchased in $5000 increments and will provide coverage for your medical expenses in addition to the $8000 mandatory coverage under the compulsory PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage. However, because the PIP coverage also reimburses one for lost wages resulting from the accident, often times there is not adequate coverage for all of one’s medical expenses and lost wages resulting from an accident from the mandatory PIP coverage. Medical Payments coverage offers additional protection and allows one to obtain the medical treatment necessary for injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident and we highly recommend purchasing this coverage.

Welcome to the Legal Blog of the Law Offices of Edward F. Wallace.

A quick introduction into our lawyers:

Edward F. Wallace has been practicing law for over 30 years. He received his law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1978. He is admitted to practice before all the courts of the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Attorney Wallace is certified as an Advocate by the National College for Advocacy and a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Laura Sheppard received her law degree from the Massachusetts School of Law in 1996. She is admitted to practice before all the courts of the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. Attorney Sheppard is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association.

A quick introduction to our webmaster:

Nicole Janice Wallace received her B.A. in English and Medieval Studies from Smith College in 2002. She received her M.A. from University College London in the UK in 2003 in Scandinavian Studies. She is currently the webmaster and designer of TheMediationLawyers.com. In addition to her work at this law firm, she moderates two unrelated websites.