Los Angeles (California, USA) must pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant’s widow and a co-plaintiff for photos taken at the site of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball legend and eight others. die.

Los Angeles police chiefs and firefighters who arrived at the crash scene in January 2020 took photos of the accident, including the Los Angeles Lakers basketball club legend and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.

Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife, Sarah, and daughter, Payton, also died in the crash, sued for moral damages over the photos, which they said they feared would one day appear. on the Internet.

Vanessa Bryant (center) – Kobe Bryant’s wife leaves court

The civil jury ordered Los Angeles to pay $16 million to Bryant, and $15 million to Chester. This is compensation for past and future suffering.

Vanessa Bryant cried while the verdict was read and left the courthouse without speaking to waiting reporters. She later posted a photo on Instagram of herself with her late husband and daughter, with the caption: “…Justice for Kobe and Gigi!”

Chester’s lawyers have called for $1 million in damages for each year of the plaintiffs’ expected lives, a figure that goes up to $40 million for 40-year-old Bryant and $30 million for Chester. “We are here because of intentional conduct,” said Vanessa Bryant’s attorney Craig Lavoie. The intentional conduct of those charged with protecting the dignity of Sarah and Payton, as well as Kobe and Gianna.

Kobe Bryant’s death shocked the American sports industry

Los Angeles authorities said that although employees broke confidentiality policies, Bryant and Chester’s privacy rights were not violated because the photos were never in the public domain. Relatives of other victims of the accident were awarded a total of $2.5 million in compensation for the photos.

An investigation into the crash found that the pilot may have become disoriented after flying the Sikorsky S-76 into fog as he transported his passengers to a women’s basketball tournament in nearby Thousand Oaks .

Kobe Bryant is widely recognized as one of the greatest basketball players ever, a figure who became the face of the sport during two sparkling decades with the Los Angeles club. Lakers. Kobe Bryant was a 5-time NBA champion in a career that began in 1996 right through high school until his retirement in 2016.