After a $16 million award in a suit against Los Angeles County last year, the county has added a settlement for another $13 million to account for Vanessa Bryant’s children, bringing the total to $28.8 million.
LA County settles Kobe Bryant crash lawsuit
In August, a jury awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million in an invasion of privacy suit filed against Los Angeles County in August 2022 over the public dissemination of graphic photos from the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, as well as seven others, Yahoo News reported.
On January 26, 2020, a helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other passengers went down in Calabasas, California, crashing into a hillside due to bad weather and killing everyone on board, BuzzFeed News reported. All were on their way to a basketball tournament at Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks.
The leaked photos included not only showed the wreckage of the helicopter crash but also featured gruesome, close-up images of the mangled bodies of the victims who were killed in the crash.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up,” Vanessa Bryant said during testimony at the August trial, reflecting that the gruesome photos could be spread online. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up.”
Last August, the jury found both the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Fire departments liable for infringing on her constitutional rights for taking and sharing grisly photos, CNN reported.
In addition, the jury also awarded another plaintiff in the trial, Christopher Chester, who lost his wife, Sarah, and his 13-year-old daughter, Payton, in the crash, $15 million in damages.
LA County adds additional $13M for nearly $30M settlement
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County settled the lawsuit, adding another $13 million or so, to include additional funds to settle any potential future claims from the other three daughters of Vanessa and Kobe Bryant –Natalia, Bianka, and Capri, TMZ reported.
According to Bryant’s lawyer, the $28.8 million includes the previous $15 million and represents a combined total of the August and new settlement with Los Angeles County.
TMZ reported that it appeared that Vanessa amended her initial lawsuit to add 20-year-old Natalia, 6-year-old Bianka, and 3-year-old Capri.
The settlement resolves Vanessa’s original complaint, all similar claims, as well as all pending litigation and future claims from her surviving daughters.
