According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 2005 to 2011, the annual death rate in the US due to car accidents averages to at least 35,000. With this number, the NHTSA has also released information on the following:

• Major causes of death: the NHTSA has identified four contributory factors. Based on rank, these are drunk-driving, speeding, distracted driving and bad weather;
• Victims who die: the highest number of deaths (which is more than half of the total number yearly deaths), is on the driver’s group, followed by the passengers, other motorists and pedestrians;
• Days when fatal accidents are the greatest: the day with the highest number of fatalities is Saturday; both Sunday and Friday are second on the list. Thursday is third, while on fourth, from Monday to Wednesday

Surprisingly, the victims in about 22% of the total number of deaths are persons aged between 15 and 24 years old. In fact, from January-June 2011, a short period of six months, 211 teens, aged 16 to 17, were already involved and killed in car wrecks.

Though distracted driving ranks only third in the major causes of fatal accidents, it still claims a huge number of lives. The sad thing is, accidents, much more, deaths, could have been easily prevented had drivers only been more considerate on the road. Some of the more common forms of distractions while driving include:

• Eating and/or drinking
• Sending or receiving text messages
• Talking on handheld cell phones
• Setting or changing a GPS system
• Reading a map
• Combing or styling the hair
• Putting on makeup
• Surfing the internet

Many drivers, especially younger ones, choose not to consider traffic situations when they are behind the wheel. They allow themselves to be distracted by concerns which they admit they would not allow the driver in the car they would be riding (if they were passengers) to be distracted with.

Accidents due to distracted driving are simple acts of negligence or carelessness and if these lead to the wrongful death of other motorists and/or pedestrians, the driver can be charged with a civil or criminal offense. Personal injury lawyers, legal experts who know what the law states regarding accidents can help you bring the liable party to justice and earn the compensation that you rightfully deserve. Seeking legal help from them ought to be one of your decisions in case of an accident.

Divorcing parents should understand that continuous support of their child isn’t just their legal obligation; it is their moral responsibility too. Until the child’s 18th year of age or until emancipation, child support, which is supposed to provide for the child’s basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter and education, and which will allow the child to enjoy the same standard of living the parents have, is required by law. However, the court may also require the obligor or the non-custodial parent to provide further support which will cover his or her child’s other activities, like camps or vacations, and needs, such as dental and medical.

Child support is a periodic payment given by a non-custodial parent to help ensure the well-being of his or her child. It is a legal requirement resulting from divorce, termination of marriage, marital or legal separation, dissolution of a civil union or annulment. The payment is required even if the custodial parent has the capability to provide child care single-handedly. In the event when both parents are awarded custody of the child (meaning, they can share equal amount of time with the child within a week), the one with the higher income will still be identified as the obligor; in cases when neither parent is awarded custody, though, support is paid by both parents to the court-assigned custodian, which may be a care-giver or anyone designated to represent the state.

The non-custodial parent can be the father or the mother. Thus, whoever it may be, he or she will have to pay the custodial parent or the obligee the court-assigned amount of support. A non-custodial parent who avoids child support payments is sometimes called a dead-beat parent.

Though it is the Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services which sees to the implementation of the child support program in the US, each state can establish its own procedure on how to calculate the amount of support, as well as select any of the three federally-introduced guidelines for child support. These guidelines and their explanations are:

• Income shares model: this model declares that the parental support a minor child ought to receive should be the same amount as if his or her parents were living together.
• Percentage of income model: then amount of support is calculated as a fraction or percentage of the non-custodial parent’s earnings.
• Melson formula model: this is a six step process which is a more intricate version of the income shares model. It takes into consideration such factors as the child’s extraordinary medical expenses, child care, his or her major support needs and the Standard of Living Adjustment (SOLA), which allows the child to automatically enjoy and share in any increase in the income of his or her parent/s. The amount of financial support that is determined by the court is based on the total cost of above factors.

Penalties are imposed on non-custodial parents who fail to make timely payments. In Tennessee, for instance, late or non- payment can result to revocation of driver’s license, while in Texas, even with a three-month delay, the court can order that the amount be deducted from your wages, or you can have your lottery winnings or federal income tax refund checks intercepted by child support enforcement groups. Other penalties in Texas include suspension of your driver’s license (sometimes with the inclusion of fishing and hunting licenses) or a jail term.

For individuals, couples or families scouting for the perfect house to rent or buy, navigating through the real estate market can be a difficult endeavor. One advice may be worth considering, though; that is, if you can afford to buy a spec or tract home, then you might as well go for a custom home.

A custom home is one that is specifically designed to suit the homeowner’s needs and budget. Unlike tract homes, which are designed similarly (such as a number of houses built in a community, all having the same design, number of rooms, materials used, color, finishing, etc.), customs homes are totally unique from any other houses built. It’s a house built based on your own decision, not on the decision of corporate bigwigs, who build and make you want what they build. This is because you, or the owner, get to choose the location, number, layout and sizes of the rooms, the materials to use for the flooring and walls and other fixtures, wall finishes, counter tops, as well as the color and finish of the house. Besides these, you also get to decide what amenities should and should not be include in your house. In short, it’s the house built exactly the way you want and where you would want to live in.

Since a custom home is built according to your (and your family’s) wishes, specifications and budget, it actually serves as the dream house you have always wanted. You can even integrate green building techniques into its design and construction, making it more comfortable, livable, and even environmental friendly.

Due to the uniqueness and explicitness of your custom house, your full participation in its building becomes necessary. You work closely with the builder, thus, it becomes your building project too; an exciting and fulfilling experience, especially on its completion. This partnership between you and the builder requires trust, honesty and fairness, thus, it is highly important that you choose well the builder you will want to build your house.

There can be hundreds of custom home builders who can offer you quality service and accurate results within your budget; but there may only be a handful with whom it will be a pleasure to work with. Choose and know your builder; this will make building as fulfilling as seeing your own custom home completed.

A drug-related crime is a serious offense, thus, to significantly reduce the number of this type of crime, the US federal law has approved the imposition of much higher fines and stricter punishments on offenders. In fact, manufacturers, sellers, distributors and those who would be caught delivering drugs and drug paraphernalia would, likewise, be charged with a crime.

Some of the drugs commonly circulated and used in the US are heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, which is the one used most widely. Marijuana is actually a mixture of shredded flowers, seeds, stem, and dried leaves of cannabis sativa, a plant that contains the chemical THC, that is, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. There are actually about 400 other chemicals contained in the drug marijuana, but THC is known to be the chief psychoactive ingredient. Distributors and users otherwise refer to marijuana as cannabis, Mary Jane, pot, grass, gangster, ganja, reefer, skunk, weed, chronic, boom, or kiffe.

Despite its illegality under the federal law some states have decriminalized its use for recreational purposes. About 18 US states, as well as DC, have even declared the legal sale, possession or use of medical cannabis or marijuana; these states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. (It should be noted, though, that Article IV, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, RE Supremacy Clause, the federal law is superior and, therefore, takes precedence over state laws in areas when they conflict.)

Based on medical and scientific research, however, the US department of Health and Human Services (HHS) maintains that cannabis lacks the required safety for use even with medical supervision, registers a high possibility for abuse and, currently, has no accepted medical use. With such factors, the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the federal law in charge of the regulation on the dispensation and prescription of psychoactive drugs, such as hallucinogens, narcotics, stimulants and depressants, and the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have categorized cannabis, along with heroin, LSD, and mescaline, as a Schedule I drug or drug not considered legal for medical purposes.

Maintaining the illegality of drug, the mandatory minimum sentences which the federal government has designed as punishment to those who will be caught in possession of marijuana are:

• First offense (any amount): a charge of misdemeanor with 1 year imprisonment and a $ 1,000 fine
• Second offense (any amount): a charge of misdemeanor with 15 days – 2 years imprisonment and a $ 2,500 fine
• Subsequent offense (any amount): a charge of misdemeanor or felony with 90 days – 3 years imprisonment and a $ 5,000 fine

There are also mandatory minimum sentences for sale and cultivation of marijuana as well as sale of drug paraphernalia. In case you are caught and charged with marijuana possession, contact a lawyer immediately and know your legal options which might save you of the harsh punishments of the law.

So many accidents that occur could have been and can be prevented; all it requires is a due amount of diligence and concern for everyone’s safety. Oftentimes, acts of negligence, recklessness, or carelessness cause injury, subjecting the victim to different forms of suffering, including mental, emotional and financial.

The person, government agency or firm, which is the cause of an accident, can be guilty of a civil or criminal offense – this is due to the injury, also known as personal injury, that results from the accident. A personal injury, on the other hand, is a kind of civil wrong or a tort, which can serve as basis for a lawsuit. This lawsuit is intended to prevent others from acting recklessly or carelessly and to allow the injured victim to claim compensation for whatever damages he or she is suffering from, including loss of capacity to earn, physical, emotional and mental pain and suffering, medical expenses and other future losses due to the injury.

Even the tort law, however, is a complicated matter and with the need to recover rather than suffer further from worry and stress a lawsuit may bring about, the injured victim ought to acquire the services of an accident lawyer. Your hired lawyer’s extensive knowledge of the law and experience in legal procedures are your strength when it comes to fighting for your rights and getting the compensation that you deserve.

Not all lawyers are fashioned with the same spirit of determination in defending your rights, though. However, there surely is a significant number of really determined lawyers who are more experienced and much tougher than other. Thus, make sure that you choose your legal counsel well, ensuring that you get the right one who can best represent you.