How much was Vanessa Bryant awarded after suing Los Angeles over husband Kobe’s death?

After a long legal process in August 2022, Vanessa Bryant’s trial against Los Angeles County ended with Kobe’s widow emerging victorious from the courts.

Vanessa Bryant wins legal case over Kobe crash photos

Around two and a half years after the tragedy, a jury awarded $16 million to Vanessa Bryant as part of a $31 million settlement after police and firefighters shared photos of Kobe and Gianna Bryant after the plane crash that took their lives.

The jury, which deliberated for more than four hours before giving a verdict, pointed out that the photographs violated privacy and caused emotional problems in Kobe Bryant’s family. According to ESPN the photographs were disclosed between employees of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office and the police department. In addition, some of the items’ wives and a bar clerk also viewed the content.

During the trial, which lasted 11 days, Vanessa Bryant stated that she lived in fear of facing the images of her deceased relatives on the internet. “I’m afraid of being on social networks and that those photos appear,” she testified. “I’m afraid that my daughters are on social networks and the photographs appear.”

Bryant, who was in the Los Angeles federal courtroom when the verdict was read out after an 11-day trial, clasped her face in her hands and wept. She and her attorney declined to speak to reporters as they left the courthouse. The verdict was given during ‘Kobe Bryant Day’, a day implemented in Los Angeles to remember the legacy of the former basketball player. The date was chosen one day after the former Lakers star’s birthday.

Other crash victims awarded millions

Vanessa Bryant was not the only beneficiary in the trial. Christopher Chester, whose wife Sarah, 45, and daughter, Payton, 13, were among those killed in the crash and who joined Bryant’s lawsuit, was awarded $15 million.