OAN Sophia Flores
UPDATED 6:36 PM PT – Wednesday, March 1, 2023
The family of the late Kobe Bryant has settled their legal suit against Los Angeles County regarding the sharing of graphic photos from the 2020 fatal helicopter crash which killed Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant. The family has been awarded nearly $30 million in damages.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has agreed to pay the Bryant family $28.85 million in damages to settle the lawsuit. During the 11-day trial which occurred in August, Vanessa Bryant, the widow of the late basketball star, testified saying that the news of the photos escalated her grief after the accident.
“I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up,” Bryant testified.
Bryant’s, attorney Luis Li released a statement after the settlement.
“Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct,” Bryant’s attorney Luis Li said in a statement. “She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect.”
Kobe Bryant and his daughter died after their helicopter crashed into hills in Calabasas, California on January 26, 2020. The two and several others were on their way to a youth basketball game. There were no survivors.
Some responding deputies and firefighters took photos of the bodies and the wreckage at the crash site. They then shared the photos with fellow employees and their spouses. Bryant testified that she learned about the photos from a Los Angeles Times report.
By: OAN
