Vanessa Bryant Settles Remaining Claims Over Helicopter Crash Photos

The settlement in total is $28.85 Million

by Ivy June
On Tuesday, Vanessa Bryant settled her remaining claims against Los Angeles County for $28,850,000 regarding photos of the helicopter crash that took the lives of her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna in January 2020. The co-plaintiff, Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also killed in the accident, received a settlement of $19,950,000.

“Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct. She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice,” Luis Li, Vanessa Bryant’s attorney, said in a statement.

On the 26th of January, 2020, Kobe and Gianna were en route to a basketball game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. Accompanying them on the helicopter were several people related to the program, yet allnine individuals aboard the aircraft perished uponits tragic crash in Calabasas.

“We believe the settlement approved by the Board in the Bryant case is fair and reasonable. The $28,850,000 settlement includes the verdict awarded by the federal jury in August 2022, and further resolves all outstanding issues related to pending legal claims in state court, future claims by the Bryant children, and other costs, with each party responsible for its respective attorneys’ fees,” Mira Hashmall, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm and lead trial counsel for LA County in the Bryant-Chester case, said in a statement.

Following this incident, Vanessa Bryant sued Los Angeles County, claiming that first responders at the scene took photographs of human remains as souvenirs and shared them with others. Such behavior resulted in emotional distress and her subsequent lawsuit sought recompense for negligence and invasion of privacy. Ultimately, the jury ruled in her favor and awarded her $16 million.

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