The risk of a fatal crash increases by nearly half when a 16- or 17-year-old driver has one teenage passenger; it doubles with two teen passengers; and it quadruples with three or more passengers.

As reported by the Washington Post, the study is the latest report to raise concerns about teenage drivers. In reviewing preliminary data from the first six months of 2011, the Governors Highway Safety Association found a slight increase in the number of fatal crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers. If the trend continued, 2011 would reverse a recent trend of falling teenage fatalities.

In another study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month said its research found that drivers under the age of 24 were much more likely than older drivers to send and receive text messages while driving.

Underage drinking often occurs at and after prom, as well as after graduation. Most teens continue celebrating when the prom is over and graduation ends. You’d like your teen to have a good time and celebrate, but you also want him or her to be safe. The use of alcohol compromises your teen’s safety and opens him or her and you to legal consequences.

Parental Responsibility and the Law

Some parents provide alcohol to minors at parties or fail to see the truth that alcohol use occurs. If you’re a parent who is thinking about providing or allowing alcohol at a party in your home (or elsewhere) you ought to know the laws. Parents may be held responsible if someone, as a result of alcohol use:

• Gets into a fight and hurts someone.

• Falls and hurts themselves or someone else.

• Sexually assaults someone.

• Damages property.

• Dies from drinking too much.

• Injures or kills someone while driving after leaving the party.

You have a civil liability (meaning you can be sued) to pay damages if either a partygoer is hurt or a third person is injured. Virginia law recognizes your liability for negligence if you provide alcohol to a minor who causes injury to another or him/herself. You may also face criminal charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

As a parent, you have a responsibility to your teen and to the laws of Virginia. Step up with strong parental guidance to insure that post-event parties do not open the door to problems. Even if the above negative situations do not occur, you may face legal charges for providing or allowing alcohol to be used by minors in your home.

For example, it is against state law to allow underage persons to possess or consume alcohol. This is a Class 1 misdemeanor and is punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine. Purchasing for and/or giving alcohol to a minor is also against the law, and penalties can include losing a driver’s license for up to a year.

What Parents Can Do

• Communicate clearly and openly. Set a firm “no alcohol” rule and firm consequences for breaking that rule. Supply your teen with accurate information.

• Support community & school-sponsored after-prom/graduation celebrations. Most celebrations are parent sponsored and include community involvement. If your school does not sponsor such an event, please consider beginning a new tradition.

• Host a party. Provide a fun and alcohol-free environment in your own home by holding a party yourself.

• Use a limousine. The Virginia Limousine Association encourages its members to sign a pledge that they will not transport, supply or allow use of alcohol by minors in their vehicles.

• Reflect on your own actions. Look in the mirror. Are you sending the right signals to your teen? Strive to be a positive role model.

Zero Tolerance in Virginia

It is illegal for anyone under 21 to possess any alcoholic beverage. Virginia’s Zero Tolerance law makes driving under the influence of any amount of alcohol a serious criminal offense for drivers under age 21.

No one may use an altered or fake ID such as driver’s license, birth certificate or student identification card to establish a false identity or false age to purchase an alcoholic beverage.

Violators of the above are guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and, upon conviction, face a fine of up to $2,500 and/or a year in jail and/or 50 hours of community service, and can lose their driver’s license for up to a year.

The judgment came in the civil case brought against Combs-Lafleur by attorneys for the Estate of Catherine Anne (Cacey) Combs-Lafleur. The jury took 30 minutes to deliberate and return its historic verdict. Attorneys asked for $15 million as a reflection of the grief and anguish associated with the horrific nature of the crime.

“This was a moral victory for the family,” said Peter Burnett of Burnett & Williams, the attorneys for the Estate. “The family needed their day in court to talk about Cacey. They were troubled that their loved one, this delightful, lovely and thoughtful person, would be remembered not for how she lived but for how she died. I am honored to represent such a deserving family.”

Cacey Combs-Lafleur died Sept. 18, 2010 at the home she shared with her husband outside Leesburg. Steven Combs-Lafleur by his own admission caused Cacey’s death by striking her several times in the head with a two-pound sledge hammer.

During initial questioning by Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department investigators, Combs-Lafleur provided multiple explanations of the cause of death, all of which were inconsistent with crime scene evidence.

At the earlier criminal trial, the defendant admitted to the wrongful killing of his wife but insisted that he had committed a “mercy killing” prompted by his reaction to severe injuries Cacey sustained when a ladder upon which he was standing suddenly “kicked out” and fell on her. He claimed Cacey’s injuries were immediately apparent, unmistakably fatal in nature, and his reaction was to end her agony.

“Combs-LaFleur conceded he was legally responsible for Cacey’s death but he never let go of this unbelievable justification,” Burnett said. “He called it a ‘household accident’ that rendered her brain dead before he ever struck her. The medical examiner thought otherwise.”

In November, the jury in the criminal case convicted Combs-Lafleur of first-degree murder and recommended a sentence of life in prison. Combs-Lafleur will be sentenced March 9, 2012.

The wrongful death claim was filed on Jan. 31, 2011. Cacey’s beneficiaries are her 79-year-old mother and two younger brothers.

Cacey’s niece and nephew testified at the one-day civil trial. “They talked about the family’s grief and sense of loss,” Burnett said.  “The family has been deprived of the whole truth and are haunted by their loss.”

Cacey Combs-Lafleur was a long-time Loudoun County resident who was active in many local charities. She worked as a graphic artist for 30 years at the engineering firm CH@MHill.

The 30,000 employee company recently established the Cacey Combs-Lafleur Spirit Award, intended to perpetuate the extraordinary kindness and character of an employee well known to hundreds of colleagues.

The Combs family made a gift in Cacey’s memory to Loudoun Cares, which supports many of the charities which were important to Cacey.  “The family has expressed the desire to have the gift be used to help Cacey be remembered for the persons she was during her life,” Burnett said.

Maddie came in first in our group, with Kris running and Jim jogging behind, and Chase, Mac and Patrick followed behind. Mallory and her mother also participated. It was a great day for everyone, enjoying the music and imaginative cheers from the Spirit Groups along the scenic, tree-lined medians. There were lots of great costumed runners and walkers mingled among the 40,000 participants, and an awesome post race party in Monroe Park!

The Nonprofit Center currently hosts several tenants and plans for the second phase of renovation are moving forward. The plans include more tenant space and a meeting facility that will incorporate the first green roof top in Leesburg. Loudoun Cares Executive Director Andy Johnston notes “The building and our vision for it has been made possible by Peter’s leadership and passion for community building. Fortunately his passion is contagious and filters out through everyone working in the firm of Burnett & Williams.” Burnett championed a downtown location that included parking and was accessible to public transportation. His unique combination of business and design skills fostered the idea that the building can serve the community and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Leesburg.

1. Regardless of whether a claimant has health insurance, the negligent driver and his insurance company are still obligated to pay the amount the health care provider charged. Many of my clients are routinely deceived in this manner prior to hiring me.

2. Likewise, even when the injured party has medical payments coverage and health insurance coverage, the defendant is fully liable for the amount charged by the health care provider.

3. The adjuster will not advise you with respect to the availability of additional uninsured or underinsured coverage from your own policy, should the defendant be inadequately insured. Yes, this means that under certain circumstances, there are four different sources of recovery available to an auto accident victim: health insurance, the negligent driver’s liability insurance, medical payments coverage, and in some cases, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.

4. The adjuster will not offer legal advice on whether you will have to pay your health plan back from settlement proceeds. Some plans are entitled, some are not. And in some unfortunate cases, plans will assert a right to be repaid when no right exists at all.

5. You are entitled to the value of lost time from work even if you got sick leave or were otherwise compensated for the time away from work due to accident related injuries.

6. An adjuster will not encourage you to get verification of the partial permanency of your injury from your doctor so it can be factored into the value of your claim. This verification often accounts for a significant portion of a settlement.

Perhaps most important, the insurance adjuster will not tell you the real value of your pain and suffering. This information is uniformly withheld from the injured victim, because otherwise, the adjuster will be expected to include it in any settlement amount. What the insurance company will do is tell you they are ready to send a check immediately, upon your signing a complete release of liability. Once the release is signed, the insurance company is off the hook for any subsequent accident related treatment.

Particularly in these tough economic times, many claimants are vulnerable to the offer of a quick settlement. Adjusters tell me they are having a lot of success these days settling claims cheap with quick payments. As one of them said, “I don’t want these folks to call you, Peter.” Many of the insurance adjusters I know are very nice people, but unfortunately, their job description does not include looking out for your best interest.

My point in writing about these websites is that they all have a common thread: the information they contain is easily obtainable by the insurance company lawyers through a subpoena. I have been reading about cases in my legal journals where deserving plaintiffs have hurt their cases by sharing very personal thoughts about their case or their injuries on these OSN sites.

Although the typical way for insurance companies to obtain information is through the use of subpoenas after a lawsuit is started, from my perspective, the scary part of OSN sites is that with the click of a mouse just about any information can be uncovered. What this means is that you or your attorney may not necessarily know that posted information is being obtained by the insurance company.

The important point I’m trying to convey is this: Be careful with what you post in Cyberspace. Once it’s there, it’s almost impossible to retract. Avoid writing anything about your claim or lawsuit, or your injuries. If you do feel the need to write something, then always remember it can potentially become exhibit 1 against you at trial.

Here is a short list of my thoughts concerning social networking:

1. Anything that you have posted or will post on a OSN may end up in the hands of the opposition.
2. Check the privacy settings on your profile, and adjust them to prevent unwanted viewers from seeing it.
3. Do not post anything to your profile that discusses your law suit or related injuries.
4. Make every attempt to ensure your profile includes no photographs (posted by you or your friends) of you attempting to engage in any physical activities that you are now unable to do as a result of your injuries.
5. Do not accept “friends” invitations from people you do not know. It is possible that someone working for the defendant may attempt to pose as a “friend.” That person may try to view your page to obtain incriminating evidence that could harm your chances of a successful recovery in your lawsuit. Review your “friends” list. If you do not know someone on the list, remove them from it.

The important thing to remember here is that social networking sites have the potential to do great harm to a case. As the law is still evolving in this area with respect to privacy rights, the best approach is to assume that the insurance company will get its hands on anything you put in Cyberspace.

Jim Williams,  Lisa Kopecko, Leslie Haley, and Charles Batchelor present a check for $30,000 to the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. The money raised by the Field of Dreams Foundation and Midlothian Volunteer Coalition goes toward a new multi-use playing field at the former Watkins Annex.

Peter Burnett was recently selected by the American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in Virginia. Membership is obtained through special invitation and is extended only to those attorneys who exemplify superior qualifications of leadership,reputation, influence, stature, and profile as civil plaintiff or criminal defense trial lawyers. Visit Peter’s profile at the American Trial Lawyers Association website