The lawsuit between Vanessa Bryant and the LA County seems to have taken a controversial turn lately. The LA county wants the late Kobe Bryant’s wife to submit a psychiatric test to support her claim of the crash site photos causing her severe emotional distress.
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It’s been over a year and a half since NBA legend Kobe Bryant passed away in a tragic helicopter crash. The basketball icon’s death shook the entire sporting world. Kobe’s wife Vanessa not only lost her husband in the crash but her daughter Gianna as well.
Within few hours of his helicopter crash, the internet was buzzing with images of the crash site. Vanessa was immediately taken aback by those images, filing a lawsuit against the LA County. Reportedly, the lawsuit could end up costing the County tens of millions of dollars.
The LA County’s defense has demanded Vanessa submit the reports of a psychiatric test claiming the accident images had caused her emotional distress. The County believes it was the accident and not the images that led to Vanessa’s distress.
The LA County believes that the results of the psychiatric test would be in their favor, leading to Vanessa dropping her expensive lawsuit against them.
Vanessa Bryant V. The LA County.
The lawsuit between Vanessa Bryant and the LA County has had a drastic turn of events, with the County demanding the widow of the Lakers legend to undergo a psychiatric test.
“The county of Los Angeles is trying to force the widow of Kobe Bryant and other surviving family members of a fatal helicopter crash last year to submit to psychiatric examinations that could help the county prove a critical point in their legal dispute,” wrote Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today.
“Did Vanessa Bryant and the others suffer emotional distress because photos of their dead relatives were shared by county fire and sheriff’s department employees after the crash?
“In a court filing Friday, the county noted that Bryant and other surviving family plaintiffs are suing the county for tens of millions of dollars based solely on their claimed ‘severe emotional distress.’ ‘The county’s position is that their distress was not caused by county employees or any accident site photos it says ‘were never publicly disseminated.’
“‘Despite putting their mental condition front and center in this case, Plaintiffs refuse to submit to independent medical examinations (IMEs),’ the county stated. ‘The County brings this motion to compel IMEs of the Plaintiffs, which are necessary to evaluate the existence, extent, and nature of Plaintiffs’ alleged emotional injuries. Plaintiffs cannot claim that they are suffering from ongoing depression, anxiety, and severe emotional distress and then balk at having to support their claims.”‘
Recently, Camp Vanessa Bryant issued the following statement in light of the County’s latest claims.
“Unable to defend the indefensible conduct of its employees who took and shared horrific photographs of Plaintiffs’ deceased loved ones. … the County has resorted to scorched-earth discovery tactics designed to bully Plaintiffs into abandoning their pursuit of accountability,” Vanesa’s attorneys stated. “After seeking intrusive discovery into everything from Plaintiffs’ privileged therapist records and middle school report cards, the County now seeks to compel the victims of its employees’ misconduct … to undergo involuntary psychiatric examinations.”
Via: Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today.
With the details of the lawsuit going public, the matter has become highly controversial. The recent turn of events has brought Kobe’s loved ones immense grief.
