The county was ordered to pay $16 million to Bryant, and $15 million to Chester.
Los Angeles:
A jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant’s widow and a co-plaintiff Wednesday over graphic pictures of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball star.
Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who rushed to the scene of the January 2020 crash snapped footage of the carnage, together with the mangled stays of the Los Angeles Lakers legend and his 13-year-old daughter.
The civil trial in Los Angeles heard how a few of these first responders confirmed the pictures to members of the general public — together with a bartender — whereas one deputy texted them to a good friend because the pair performed video video games.
In its protection, Los Angeles County mentioned the images have by no means turn into public and officers have been diligent in efforts to clean them from units.
However the two-week trial heard how Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, whose spouse and daughter additionally perished within the crash, stay in worry of those pictures surfacing on the web in the future.
The pair each sued for emotional damages over the pictures, in fits which were mixed.
The county was ordered to pay $16 million to Bryant, and $15 million to Chester.
Chester’s lawyer on Tuesday had referred to as for compensation to be calculated primarily based on the 2 plaintiffs’ respective remaining life expectations.
He had requested for $40 million for 40-year-old Bryant, and $30 million for 48-year-old Chester.
“You may’t award an excessive amount of cash for what they went by way of,” mentioned legal professional Jerry Jackson.
Bryant’s lawyer Craig Lavoie mentioned he was asking for “justice and accountability” for the basketball nice — a hero to the town of Los Angeles — and his widow.
“We’re right here due to intentional conduct — the county violated Mrs. Bryant and Mr. Chester’s constitutional rights,” Lavoie mentioned, asking the jury to carry the county accountable for “the constitutional violations of its workers.”
Jurors in downtown Los Angeles reached their verdict after roughly 4 and a half hours of deliberations.
Kin of different victims had been final 12 months granted $2.5 million in compensation over the photo-taking.
An investigation into the crash discovered the pilot had most likely turn into disorientated after flying the Sikorsky S-76 into fog.
Bryant is well known as one of many best basketball gamers ever, a determine who turned the face of his sport throughout a glittering 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He was a five-time NBA champion in a profession that started in 1996 straight out of highschool and lasted till his retirement in 2016.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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