On Monday, the Today Show aired a story that discussed a case where we are attempting to hold the senders of a text to a distracted driver liable for the death of Daniel Gallatin. Earlier this year, a Lawrence County judge allowed the suit to continue against both the driver who was reading the texts and the two men with whom she was texting. Since that time, the Gallatin family’s civil lawsuit has been gaining national attention due to the complexity and novelty of the filing, as well as the HB853, named after Daniel Gallatin.

According to Attorney Doug Olcott, “There was a lot of information left on the cutting room floor, but the segment did a good job at shedding light on the issue. What we know is that there is a need for the law to catch up with technology. The penalties for distracted driving and texting while driving are small summary offenses, while drunk driving penalties are much more severe.”

It has been proven time and time again that texting while driving is even more dangerous than drinking while driving, yet the punishments are not comparable. HB853, or Danilel’s Law, calls for harsher penalties for those who harm others when texting while driving.

According to Daniel Gallatin’s family, it is about preventing another family from going through the heartache they have suffered due to the carelessness of others.

Please click here to watch the full story on the Today Show.