Vanessa Bryant awarded $16M over photos of Kobe Bryant’s body taken at crash site

LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, was awarded $16 million in damages by a California jury on Wednesday over photographs taken at the scene of the helicopter crash that took the life of the former Lakers star, his daughter and seven other people.

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A jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay Vanessa Bryant and another man $31 million in damages for the graphic photos sheriff’s deputies and firefighters took of the January 2020 helicopter crash scene, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Attorneys for Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester argued that the photographs had violated their clients’ right to privacy and inflicted emotional distress. Chester lost his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Payton, in the crash.

Chester was awarded $15 million.

“January 26th, 2020, was the worst day of Vanessa Bryant’s life. The county made it much worse,” Vanessa Bryant’s attorney, Luis Li, told jurors in his opening statement earlier this month. “They poured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in.”

Los Angeles County already agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a similar case brought by the two families, but Vanessa Bryant and Chester declined to settle, according to The Associated Press.

Jurors deliberated 4 1/2 hours after the 11-day trial, the Times reported.

An attorney for Los Angeles County declined to comment on the verdict, according to the AP.

“We’re not here because of an accident,” Craig Lavoie, another attorney representing Vanessa Bryant, told jurors during his closing arguments Tuesday, on what would have been Kobe Bryant’s 44th birthday. “We’re here because of intentional conduct. Intentional conduct by those who were charged with protecting the dignity of Sarah and Payton, and Kobe and Gianna.”

Attorneys for Los Angeles County argued that there were legitimate reasons for first responders to take and receive the photos, including to help determine the size of the crash site and decide what resources were needed, the Times reported. The images, they said, were never published online or in the media -- nor were they seen by the victims’ families because of swift work by the sheriff’s office and fire leaders in halting the spread of their circulation.

“This is the pictures case, and there are no pictures,” Mira Hashmall, an attorney representing the county, said during closing argument.

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Photos: Kobe Bryant through the years NEW YORK - 1996: First Round NBA draft pick Kobe Bryant poses for a photo. Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images) (Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Photos: Remembering Kobe and Gianna Bryant at Staples Center memorial ceremony Fans arrives for a celebration of life for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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