Vanessa wins $30 million for helicopter crash photos
Vanessa wins $30 million for helicopter crash photos
Updated on March 02, 2023 15:28 PM by Andrew Koschiev
Vanessa's $30 Million of Final Settlement | Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, and six others perished in a helicopter crash that Bryant's daughter photographed. Bryant has agreed to pay Los Angeles County nearly $29 million to settle a lawsuit over these photos. Following the helicopter crash on a California hillside in January 2020, and the subsequent photos, several years of litigation have ended. Luis Li, who represents Bryant, says, "Today marks the culmination of Mrs Bryant's courageous fight to hold those responsible for this grotesque conduct." Having won at trial and settling, this practice will end, as she fought for her husband, daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased families were treated similarly.
Find out from the close-up photos
Having been found liable for infringing on Bryant's and Christopher Chester's constitutional Sharing and taking photos of nine people who died in a helicopter crash in August 2022, the settlement comes after a Federal jury finds LA Sheriff's Department and LA Fire Department responsible. Among the photos were images of the helicopter wreckage and close-ups of the damaged bodies. Each testified that they feared that the pictures of their loved ones might surface despite the county's claim that the pictures had been destroyed. The county says the photos had been destroyed. Bryant and Chester claimed they were subjected to emotional distress and violated their privacy.
The Bryant family details
According to Bryant's attorney, a clerical error caused the jury to reduce Chester's damage award to $15 million and Bryant's to $15 million. Chester, who lost his wife Sarah and 13-year-old daughter Payton in the helicopter crash, received an additional $4.95 million from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in September 2022. Los Angeles County's lead trial lawyer Mira Hashmall called Bryant's settlement "fair and reasonable." As part of the settlement, Hashmall said that the jury awarded $28,850,000 in August 2022 and that all outstanding issues have been resolved, including state lawsuits, Bryant child lawsuits in the future, and other costs. Each party pays its own attorney's fees, too. The Bryant family's youngest daughters, Bianka Bella Bryant and Capri Kobe Bryant were named as part of the lawsuit. The family of Ms Bryant wishes her and her kids continued healing from their loss, Hashmall said.