Vanessa Bryant awarded $16M after trial over helicopter crash site photos

The wife of late American basketball player, Kobe Bryant, Vanessa has received a combined awarded $31 million by a Los Angeles jury with her co-plaintiff, Chris Chester.

The trial, which began on August 10, came to a close on Wednesday afternoon. With the jury finding Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and Fire Department (LAFD) guilty.

Both departments had shared photos of the bodies of Bryant and Chester‘s loved ones. Also invading their privacy and causing them emotional distress in the process.

The jury ordered the LASD to pay Vanessa $10 million and to pay Chris a total of $9 million. While the LAFD is ordered to pay the pair $6 million each.

The decision came down coincidentally on Kobe Bryant Day aka Mamba Day which is a day honoring the late Los Angeles Lakers legend whose jersey numbers #8 and #24 day.

After the verdict, Mira Hashmall, partner at Miller Barondess law firm and the lead outside counsel for the county, thanked the jury for its hard work.

She said in a statement, “While we disagree with the jury’s findings as to the county’s liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn’t believe the evidence supported the plaintiffs’ requests for $75 million for emotional distress.”