Vanessa Bryant - the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant who tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020 - has just settled a lawsuit against Los Angeles County.
The 40-year-old mother-of-four has spent the past three years grieving the loss of her 41-year-old LA Lakers player husband, as well as her 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also killed in the devastating crash.
Seven others also lost their lives. Since then, Bryant has been in the process of suing Los Angeles County for invasion of privacy after it was discovered that first responders captured and consequently privately shared photographs of the traumatic incident.
In her lawsuit, Bryant stated (via Insider) that this caused her immense emotional distress, testifying that: "I felt like I wanted to run, run down the block and scream [...] It was like the feeling of wanting to run down a pier and jump into the water. The problem is I can't escape. I can't escape my body."
Bryant also testified that the Los Angeles Times contacted her about the leaked images for a story. At the time, Bryant stated, she was holding her seven-month-old daughter. "I bolted out of the house and around to the side so my girls wouldn't see," Bryant testified.
"I was blindsided again, devastated, hurt. I trusted them. I trusted them not to do these things," she revealed.
Throughout the lawsuit, the court heard how images of the crash were circulated by a sheriff's deputy and several firefighters and that those photographs were shown to others at bars and awards banquets. Now it's been reported that Bryant has finally settled the lawsuit for $28.85 million.
Her attorney, Luis Liu, told ABC News in a statement: "Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant's courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct. She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice."
Lead counsel for Los Angeles County Mira Hashmall then stated that this award will resolve any outstanding issues relating to pending legal claims as well as future claims made by Bryant's daughters.
"We believe the settlement approved by the Board in the Bryant case is fair and reasonable. The $28,850,000 settlement includes the verdict awarded by the federal jury in August 2022, and further resolves all outstanding issues related to pending legal claims in state court, future claims by the Bryant children, and other costs, with each party responsible for its respective attorneys' fees," she added.