The widow of late Basketball legend Kobe Bryant who died in a chopper crash along with their daughter Gianna and six others was awarded $16 million by a federal jury in her lawsuit against Los Angeles County.
The lawsuit was filed against the county by Vanessa Bryant for sharing the pictures that showed the remains of her husband and daughter from the site of the crash.
Kobe Bryant then 41, died in a crash along with fellow passengers on January, 26th 2020. Mrs. Vanessa Bryant in her lawsuit alleged that the county’s first responder took unauthorized photos of the crash scenes and the remains of the victims, besides sharing them with others.
The lawsuit mentioned how this act violated her privacy and the emotional trauma she had been through due to the act from Los Angeles County.
Nine Jurors passed a unanimous verdict in favor of Vanessa Bryant. As per the American media, Vanessa wept upon hearing the verdict which many said the case had caused an irreparable emotional trauma to her.
Mrs. Bryant had sued Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and, the Los Angeles County Fire Department in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Luis Li, a lawyer for Mrs. Bryant, confirmed to the media about a $16 million jury verdict for Mrs. Bryant. Besides, Chris Chester, whose wife Sarah, 45, and daughter Payton, 13, were among those killed in the crash, joined the lawsuit and was awarded $15 million, Mr. Li said.
Soon after the verdict was passed a photo of Kobe and Gianna Bryant was posted from the verified Instagram handle of Vanessa with the message, “All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi!”
Vanessa even made a mention of the violation of her constitutional rights in the lawsuit and sought compensatory damage.
The American media reported, that the defendants in the case responded that the images that surfaced didn’t focus on the victims rather it was to show the world about the crash site and emphasized that the pictures were sent to anyone outside the county.
The chopper that was carrying Kobe, his daughter with six others crashed near Calabasas in a foggy condition. Kobe was on its way to a Basketball tournament. All the passengers including the pilot died on the spot.