By Ben Kesslen -
NBC News
Los Angeles County has demanded in a court filing that Vanessa Bryant undergo an independent psychiatric evaluation to show that leaked photos of the helicopter crash in which her husband and daughter died caused her emotional distress, according to the latter. advance your lawsuit against the county.
Bryant, 39, sued Los Angeles County and his sheriff's office last year, alleging county employees "showed" photos of the crash that killed her husband, basketball legend Kobe Bryant, and her daughter. 13-year-old Gianna.
They died on January 29, 2020, along with seven other people, while traveling to a basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks, California, where Gianna was supposed to play.
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Bryant and other family members are suing the county for millions of dollars.
Vanessa Bryant in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, June 18, 2021.Jordan Strauss / Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP
The county said Friday that it filed the motion because independent examinations are "necessary to assess the existence, extent, and nature of the plaintiffs' alleged emotional injuries." The defendants argued that the "severe emotional distress" was caused by the accident and not because of sharing the photos.
"Plaintiffs cannot claim to suffer from ongoing depression, anxiety and severe emotional distress and then refuse to have to support their claims," the county noted in the motion, adding that the tests are "critical to the county's defense."
Bryant's attorneys said the motion was part of the county's "scorched earth discovery tactics designed to intimidate plaintiffs into abandoning their pursuit of responsibility."
Vanessa Bryant and her daughters had a fun meeting at Disneyland
Aug. 23, 202101: 10
“Apparently, by the county's estimate, senior officials should be protected from providing any testimony, but victims must not only endure the emotional toll of a full-day deposition, but also simply undergo an eight-hour involuntary psychiatric examination. because they had the audacity to demand accountability, ”their lawyers wrote in response.
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Bryant claims in the original lawsuit that he expressed concern to the sheriff that the helicopter crash site was unprotected from the paparazzi and that he was assured authorities would secure the scene.
“Faced with a scene of unimaginable loss, no less than eight sheriff deputies at the scene of the accident took out their cell phones and took photos of the dead children, parents and coaches.
The officers took these photos for their own personal gratification, ”the lawsuit alleges.