Vanessa Bryant has been awarded $16 million in damages by a Los Angeles jury after images from a 2020 helicopter crash involving her husband, Kobe Bryant, and their daughter, Gianna, were released. The jury returned a verdict on August 24, finding that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department shared graphic images from the scene with others, causing emotional distress and invading the privacy of the victim’s family.
Bryant’s co-plaintiff Chris Chester was also awarded $15 million in their joint lawsuit, bringing the total to $31 million. Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna and 6 other members of the Lakers family were killed in a horrible helicopter crash in January 2020 in California, Los Angeles. Chester’s wife Sarah and their daughter Payton also died in the tragedy. The trial began on August 10, 2022 and has revealed some shocking information about the aftermath of the helicopter crash. Vanessa and Chris filed a lawsuit against the aforementioned agencies for mental and emotional pain. According to the complaint, images of the dead were shared publicly on 28 devices owned by the Sheriff’s Department.
Ciara and Monica support Vanessa Bryant at trial over photos of husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna from crash scene pic.twitter.com/50Ow06duZg
– Dionne Grant (@DionneGrant) August 23, 2022
Vanessa Bryant is not yet a billionaire.
Vanessa, born May 5, 1982, is a well-known philanthropist. In 2007, she co-founded the Kobe Foundation and Vanessa Bryant with the aim of providing scholarships to minority students around the world. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Vanessa Bryant’s current estimated net worth is $600 million, much of which was purchased by her late basketball star husband, Kobe Bryant.
Vanessa, then 17, met Kobe, 21, while working as a background dancer for a music video at the studio where Kobe was working on his first album. They started dating soon after and got engaged six months after meeting. Kobe and Vanessa were married in April 2001 at St. Edward the Confessor in California. They had four daughters: Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, Natalia Diamante Bryant, Capri Kobe Bryant and Bianka Bella Bryant, who died young. Regarding the lawsuit she just won, Vanessa Bryant said she had a panic attack after learning that authorities at the scene had released photos of Kobe and Gianna’s accident.
In her testimony last week, the 40-year-old woman described feeling at home when viewing a Los Angeles Times article that said county staff had circulated photos from the scene of the accident.
“I rushed out of the house and hurried around to the back so the girls wouldn’t see me. I want to scream and run down the street.”
After receiving the news, she said she felt “devastated, hurt and betrayed.”
“I never want to see these pictures again. I want to remember my spouse and children as they were.”
Vanessa Bryant denied a $2.5 million settlement from the county for emotional distress in November 2021 and decided to sue county departments for a larger payment. The two-week emotional experiment ended on Mamba Day, in honor of the deceased Lakers icon, whose jersey numbers were #24 and #8.
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: vcmp.edu.vn