The courts and regulatory authorities are grappling with whether or not drivers who use electronic gadgets and get into accidents should face the prospect of punitive damages, according to an Oct. 22 article in The Legal Intelligencer (login required) that Class of 2010 alumna Kailee Farrell co-authored.

In the article, Farrell and Patrick McDonnell cited a study that shows that insurance collision claims have remained relatively flat or declined, even as use of cell phones has become more pervasive.

In Pennsylvania, “punitive damages are an extreme remedy available in only the most exceptional matters,” the article noted, adding that “as a general proposition, distracted driving rises to the level of ordinary negligence, which is not appropriate for punitive damages.”

Farrell is an associate and McDonnell is a shareholder at McDonnell & Associates, which has offices in King of Prussia, Pa. and Cherry Hill, N.J.