Vanessa Bryant Reportedly Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Helicopter Company
As mourners gather at the Staples Center on Monday for a memorial service to celebrate the lives of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, it was just reported that attorneys for Vanessa Bryant filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that operated the helicopter that crashed last month and took the lives of her husband, daughter and seven other people.
According to TMZ, the complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Island Express Helicopters and Island Express Holding Corp. alleges that pilot Ara Zobayan, who also died in the crash, failed “to use ordinary care in piloting the subject aircraft” and was “negligent.”
“Defendant Island Express Helicopters’ breach of its duty and negligence caused the injuries and damages complained of herein and Plaintiffs’ deceased, Kobe Bryant, was killed as a direct result of the negligent conduct of Zobayan for which Defendant Island Express Helicopters is vicariously liable in all respects,” the lawsuit said.
Not only does the suit state that the pilot failed to properly monitor and assess the weather prior to takeoff, failed to obtain proper weather data prior to the flight, failed to abort the flight when he knew of the cloudy condition, failed to maintain control of the helicopter, but it also says that Island Express engaged in unnecessary and needlessly risky means of transportation under the circumstances, TMZ reports.
In addition to that, the lawsuit also says the pilot, Ara George Zobayan, was disciplined in 2015 for violating the visual flight rule minimums by flying into airspace of reduced visibility.
The amount she’s suing for hasn’t been shared. However, Vanessa is asking for punitive damages, claiming the pilot and Island Express were reckless, and the damages could be untold millions.
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