LA County Seeks to Compel Vanessa Bryant to Psychiatric Review

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By Norman Dotson Published: October 21, 2021

LA County Seeks to Compel Vanessa Bryant to Psychiatric Review

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2017 file photo, from left, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, wife Vanessa and daughter Natalia Diamante Bryant are seen before a Connecticut-UCLA NCAA women's basketball game in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant's widow on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed in fog and killed the former Los Angeles Lakers star and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna last month. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant in Los Angeles Superior Court said the pilot was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions Jan. 26 and should have aborted the flight. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

In Summary

Los Angeles County seeks to compel Vanessa Bryant and others involved in a lawsuit over leaked photos to submit themselves to a psychiatric review to prove distress from the photos.

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Los Angeles County wants the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and others involved in a lawsuit over leaked photos to submit themselves to a psychiatric exam.

According to a report from ESPN, Vanessa Bryant has a federal lawsuit against the county, alleging invasion of privacy and claiming in court papers that she has experienced “severe emotional distress” which has compounded the trauma of losing her husband and 13-year-old daughter. LA County argues an independent medical examination would be necessary to determine whether the emotional distress suffered by Bryant and others was caused by the leak of the photos or the helicopter crash itself.

Bryant’s lawsuit alleges first responders, including firefighters and sheriff’s deputies, shared photographs of Kobe Bryant’s body with a bartender and passed around the gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents and coaches.

In an internal investigation of the incident by the sheriff’s department, investigators found that deputies did share the photos.

According to ABC affiliate ABC 7, “Attorneys for Bryant and the other plaintiffs argued against the examinations, saying a complaint that merely claims damages for emotional distress does not place a party’s mental condition ‘in controversy.'”

Attorneys also added the county should work to evaluate emotional stress by what they call “less intrusive means.”

According to an article in People Magazine, forensic and clinical psychiatrist Stephen M. Raffle, M.D.’s website states a mental examination is not necessary in order for emotional distress to be proved in court cases.

Vanessa, along with the families of the seven other crash victims, reached a settlement agreement in June in the wrongful death lawsuit against the company that owned the helicopter involved.

The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.