We wrote about this story in May (Distracted Driving Lawsuits: Suing the Sender, and Lawsuits Against Text-Senders: Conclusion). There, the trial judge ruled that the plaintiffs did not have a case against the person who sent the text message, only the driver who read it. The lawyer in the case is appealing that decision, though I still wonder how he will get paid if he wins.
The $500,000 settlement only applies to the driver of the car. It looks like that is the policy limit, so the driver’s insurance paid everything it had.
For more on distracted driving lawsuits, see our archives.