United States: Following a federal jury's ruling on Wednesday, Los Angeles County was ordered to pay US$16 million to the widow of Kobe Bryant over images of the NBA star's body at the site of his fatal 2020 helicopter crash .
Nine jurors who delivered a unanimous verdict agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that deputies and firefighters violate their privacy and cause emotional distress by taking and sharing photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. We do.
Most of the people who shared the photos were members of the LA County Sheriff and fire departments, including some who were at an awards banquet and playing video games. Additionally, some of his spouses and, in one instance, a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking
After losing her husband and daughter a month earlier, Vanessa Bryant testified with tears in her eyes during the 11-day trial that learning the photos increased her still-fresh grief and that she was still suffering from panic attacks. when she feels that they may still be out there.
She testified, "I live in constant fear of seeing these on social media. I constantly worry about my daughters using social media and being exposed to these things."
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, who lost both his wife and daughter in the accident, received a US$15 million settlement.
Although Chester's attorney suggested guidelines to the jury, which would translate into tens of millions of dollars for each plaintiff, Vanessa Bryant's attorneys did not give the jury a dollar amount they believed that their customers were deserving.
According to Vanessa Bryant's attorney, Louis Lee, the close-up photos were shared simply as "visual gossip" out of sheer curiosity and had no official or investigative intent.
During the trial, County Attorney J. Mira Hashmal argued that the images were an important tool for evaluating the situation.
She admitted that not everyone who saw them needed to know about them.
However, he insisted that neither the plaintiffs nor the public had ever seen the photos. She explained that this meant that when Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officers ordered those men to remove the photos, they acted decisively and effectively.
On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant, a former Lakers player, five-time NBA champion, and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they boarded He had crashed. In the hills in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles.
Federal safety officials attributed the accident to pilot error.
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