• Vanessa and Chris fear graphic photos of helicopter crash will surface on the internet.
• Los Angeles County was ordered to pay Bryant $16 million and Chester $15 million.
• Judge: “You can’t award too much money for what they (plaintiffs) went through”.

Wednesday, a jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages to the wife of Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant, and a co-plaintiff over graphic images of the basketball star’s fatal helicopter crash.

The crushed remains of the Los Angeles Lakers star and his 13-year-old daughter were captured on camera by sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who raced to the collision site in January 2020.

The Los Angeles civil trial heard that some of these first responders, including a bartender, showed the images to members of the public, while one deputy texted them to a friend while the duo played video games.

Los Angeles County stated in its defence that the images have never been made public and that officials have worked diligently to remove them from devices.

During the two-week trial, however, it was revealed that Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter also perished in the disaster, fear that these images will one day surface on the internet.

Due to the photographs, both parties filed cases for emotional damages, which have been consolidated.

The county was ordered to pay Bryant $16 million and Chester $15 million.

Tuesday, Chester’s attorney requested that compensation be based on the two plaintiffs’ respective remaining life expectancies.

He had requested $40 million for Bryant, age 40, and $30 million for Chester, age 48.

Attorney Jerry Jackson stated, “You can’t award too much money for what they went through.”

Bryant’s attorney, Craig Lavoie, stated that he was seeking “justice and accountability” on behalf of the Los Angeles hero and his widow.

“We’re here because of intentional conduct — the county violated Mrs. Bryant and Mr. Chester’s constitutional rights,” Lavoie said, asking the jury to hold the county liable for “the constitutional violations of its employees.”

Jurors in downtown Los Angeles reached a decision after deliberating for around four and a half hours.

Last year, relatives of other victims who were photographed were awarded $2.5 million in compensation.

An examination into the disaster revealed that the pilot of the Sikorsky S-76 had likely become disoriented after flying through a fog.

Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time; throughout his two decades with the Los Angeles Lakers, he became the face of his sport.

He was a five-time NBA champion during a career that spanned from his high school graduation in 1996 to his retirement in 2016.

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