Kobe Bryant’s widow is demanding millions in her wrongful death lawsuit against the helicopter company and the estate of a pilot involved in the crash that killed the basketball icon and their daughter.
Vanessa Bryant filed suit in February, blaming pilot Ara Zobayan for the accident, maintaining it was too foggy for him to fly.
She has now made a claim against the pilot and Island Express bosses, insisting she is entitled to hundreds of millions in future lost earnings as a result of her husband’s sudden death, according to The Blast.
Vanessa’s cash request covers “economic damages, non-economic damages, prejudgment interest, punitive damages, and other relief”.
The families of the other passengers who lost their lives in the January crash are filing their own wrongful death lawsuits.
Last month, a representative for pilot Zobayan, who also perished, insisted plaintiff negligence was to blame for the accident, telling TMZ, “Any injuries or damages to plaintiffs and/or their decedent were directly caused in full or in part by the negligence or fault of plaintiffs and/or their decedent, including their knowing and voluntary encounter with the risks involved, and that this negligence was a substantial factor in causing their purported damages, for which this answering defendant bears no responsibility.”
Vanessa Bryant previously claimed pilots and law enforcement had been grounded on the day of the crash due to the weather conditions, but the pilot requested – and received – permission to fly.
According to papers she filed in early May, Island Express’ Federal Aviation Administration operating certificate did not allow pilots to fly during conditions like those on the day of the crash. The pilot had already allegedly been cited by the FAA for violating this rule in the past.
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