{"id":23423,"date":"2023-03-01T16:51:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T16:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/01\/la-agrees-to-pay-kobe-bryant-widow-almost-29m\/"},"modified":"2023-03-01T16:51:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T16:51:04","slug":"la-agrees-to-pay-kobe-bryant-widow-almost-29m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/01\/la-agrees-to-pay-kobe-bryant-widow-almost-29m\/","title":{"rendered":"LA agrees to pay Kobe Bryant widow almost $29m"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Image caption: Vanessa Bryant is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Los Angeles County has agreed to pay nearly $29m (\u00a324m) to NBA superstar Kobe Bryant\u2019s widow after police shared graphic images of his fatal helicopter crash two years ago.<\/p>\n

Bryant and his daughter Gianna died along with seven others when the aircraft crashed in the LA area.<\/p>\n

His wife, Vanessa Bryant, sued, saying first responders photographed human remains as tradable \u201csouvenirs\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Lawyers for LA County called the settlement \u201cfair and reasonable\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday marks the successful culmination of Mrs Bryant\u2019s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct,\u201d lawyers for the plaintiff said in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kobe<\/p>\n

IMAGE SOURCE: REUTERS<\/em><\/p>\n

Image caption: Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others died in the helicopter crash<\/em><\/p>\n

In a statement, Mira Hashmall, the lead trial counsel for Los Angeles County in the case, said all county-related litigation from the crash had been resolved.<\/p>\n

She said the $28,850,000 settlement included the $16m awarded by a federal jury in August 2022 to Mrs Bryant in her invasion of privacy lawsuit against Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope Ms Bryant and her children continue to heal from their loss,\u201d Ms Hashmall said.<\/p>\n

Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter also died in the 26 January 2020 crash, separately settled with the county for nearly $20m, attorneys told US media on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n

In March 2021 Mrs Bryant shared the names of four sheriff\u2019s deputies she said had distributed \u201cgratuitous photos of the dead children, parents, and coaches\u201d, who had been travelling to a basketball game.<\/p>\n

She said the pictures, including those of her 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were taken and shared \u201cfor no reason other than morbid gossip\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mrs Bryant testified at the trial that she had read in media reports how photos of the crash were shown at a pub by a Los Angeles County sheriff\u2019s deputy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up,\u201d she told the court.<\/p>\n

California has since passed a state law prohibiting first responders from taking unauthorised pictures of people who die at the scene of an accident or crime.<\/p>\n

The aircraft in the crash that killed Bryant \u2013 a Sikorsky S-76B \u2013 went down into a hillside outside the city of Calabasas.<\/p>\n

Conditions were foggy when the flight took off, and local police had grounded their helicopters due to the poor weather.<\/p>\n

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