Vanessa Bryant was awarded $16 million in damages in her lawsuit towards Los Angeles County in a verdict introduced on Aug. 24, per the Los Angeles Occasions. Her co-plaintiff, Christopher Chester, was additionally awarded $15 million.
Vanessa and Chester had sued the county for emotional misery and psychological anguish, alleging that emergency personnel shared graphic pictures from the helicopter crash that killed Vanessa’s late husband Kobe Bryant and the couple’s daughter Gianna, in addition to Chester’s late spouse Sarah and their 13-year-old daughter Payton. The jury discovered that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division and Fireplace Division officers had shared the photographs of Vanessa and Chester’s deceased family members instantly following the crash in conditions together with a cocktail hour and at a bar.
Final week, Vanessa took the stand for the primary time within the case, and opened up about when she initially discovered of the pictures being shared with unauthorized folks. “I broke down and cried and I simply wished to run down the block and scream,” she testified, in line with Folks. “I am unable to escape my physique. I am unable to escape what I really feel.”
Vanessa celebrated the victory on Instagram, sharing a photograph of herself with Kobe and Gigi. “All for you! I like you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi! #Betonyourself #MambaDay 8•24•22,” she wrote. The day of the decision had beforehand been named Kobe Bryant Day in Los Angeles to mark the previous Los Angeles Laker’s two jersey numbers throughout his NBA profession: eight and 24.