Kobe Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gigi has been blamed for her own death — because the child should have known flying in a helicopter was dangerous.
According to a report by the TMZ website, the aircraft’s operator, Island Express, made the allegation in response to Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit against them.
Island Express who operated the helicopter which crashed and killed basketball great Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gigi, has claimed that the two knew the risk they were taking when they boarded the helicopter.
The company made the claim in a legal rebuttal of Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, who claims that the company is liable for the death of her husband and daughter.
Her lawsuit alleges over two dozen causes of action including wrongful death, while Vanessa also alleges that the pilot negligently operated the aircraft, including traveling 180 miles per hour in dangerous weather conditions.
“Kobe Bryant and GB [Gigi] had actual knowledge of all of the circumstances, particular dangers, and an appreciation of the risks involved and the magnitude thereof, and proceeded to encounter a known risk, and voluntarily assumed the risk of the accident, injury … thereby barring or reducing [Vanessa’s] claim for damages” the company said in their answer.
The company also noted that the weather conditions on the day were an act of God, while the pilot on that fateful day should not shoulder all the blame alone.
Members of the Altobelli and Mauser families, whose loved ones perished in the crash that took Gigi and Kobe and seven others, have also filed lawsuits against Island Express.