Vanessa Bryant has received nearly $30 million from Los Angeles County as a result of the lawsuit she filed after her husband, former basketball star Kobe Bryant, died in a helicopter crash in 2020.
Aside from her initial $15 million win last year, she has received an additional $13 million from Los Angeles County. In total, she has gotten $28.8 million in settlement.
According to her lawyer, this settles both Vanessa’s original complaint and subsequent award, as well as any potential future claims from her surviving daughters.
It’s unclear when, but Vanessa appears to have amended her initial lawsuit to include 20-year-old Natalia, 6-year-old Bianka, and 3-year-old Capri as potential petitioners later on. Specifically, if the alleged photo-sharing of their father and sister’s remains from the helicopter crash in 2020 caused them increasing stress over time, they may be able to sue at the appropriate time.
Luis Li, Vanessa’s lawyer, stated;
“Today marks the successful conclusion of Mrs. Bryant’s valiant battle to hold those responsible for this heinous behavior accountable.
“She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family had been treated similarly. We hope that her trial victory and this settlement will put an end to this practice.”
Vanessa had previously given an emotional testimony about how the thought of photos of Kobe and their daughter, Gianna Bryant, being leaked publicly tortured her.
She was initially awarded $16 million, but a million was later reduced due to a clerical error. Vanessa and her team had previously stated that she would donate the proceeds to her Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, and now there’s even more to go around.
Kobe and Gianna were two of the nine people killed in the helicopter crash that day.
