Los Angeles Angels, Tyler Skaggs’ household attain settlement in wrongful dying lawsuit

The Los Angeles Angels on Friday settled a lawsuit over the drug overdose dying of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

The choice to settle was reached after a two-month civil trial in Southern California over whether or not the Angels must be held accountable for Skaggs’ 2019 dying after he snorted a fentanyl-laced capsule offered by the group’s communications director, Eric Kay.

“The dying of Tyle Skaggs stays a tragedy, and this trial sheds mild on the hazards of opioid use and the devastating results it could possibly have,” the Angels group stated in an announcement on Friday. “All through the course of court docket proceedings, each events looked for a path to a mutually agreed upon decision and a confidential settlement has been reached.”

Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his dad and mom filed a lawsuit alleging the MLB group knew or ought to have recognized Kay was a drug addict and was dealing painkillers to gamers. The group contended officers did not know Skaggs was taking medicine and would have sought him assist in the event that they did.

“We’re deeply grateful to the members of this jury, and to our authorized group,” the household stated within the assertion. “Their engagement and focus gave us religion, and now now we have finality. This trial uncovered the reality and we hope Main League Baseball will now do its half in holding the Angels accountable. Whereas nothing can carry Tyler again, we’ll proceed to honor his reminiscence.”  

Attorneys representing the Skaggs household and the Angels group offered their closing arguments on Monday and jurors started deliberation on Tuesday. 

Orange County Superior Court docket Decide H. Shaina Colover thanked jurors for his or her diligence. “That’s the reason this matter was capable of be resolved right now,” she stated, earlier than releasing them.

Six years in the past, the 27-year-old left-handed pitcher was discovered useless within the suburban Dallas resort room the place he was staying because the Angels have been alleged to open a four-game sequence in opposition to the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report stated Skaggs, 27, had choked to dying on his vomit, and a poisonous mixture of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was in his system.

Kay was convicted in 2022 on one rely every of drug distribution leading to dying and drug conspiracy after offering Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone capsule that was laced with fentanyl. He was sentenced to 22 years in jail that very same yr following the legal trial in Texas, which is the place Skaggs was discovered useless inside a resort room whereas the group was on a highway journey. His legal trial in Texas included testimony from 5 MLB gamers who stated they acquired oxycodone from Kay at numerous instances from 2017 to 2019.

“We imagine Tyler Skaggs must be alive right now,” stated Daniel Dutko, the legal professional representing Skaggs’ dad and mom and widow, throughout his argument. “We needed the reality to come back out. The identical can’t be stated of the Angels.”

Dutko advised jurors that in depth testimony all through the trial confirmed that group officers did not take the suitable actions once they discovered that Kay had a number of baggage of capsules at residence, or that he was hospitalized for drug overdose. As a substitute, Dutko says, the group let him keep on the job with direct entry to gamers he aimed to maintain pleased by getting them therapeutic massage appointments, tee instances and prescription treatment. He was discovered to have offered medicine to seven totally different gamers on group. 

“It is a systematic breakdown again and again and over,” Dutko stated. “Why do you assume the gamers assume it’s okay to go to the director of communications to get a prescription treatment? As a result of they believed Eric Kay’s job accountability was to get them no matter they want.”

Learn extra: Los Angeles Angels react to alleged particulars of Tyler Skaggs’ drug abuse

In California, MLB gamers, together with outfielder Mike Trout, Angels president John Carpino, and Skaggs’ and Kay’s relations, testified throughout the trial in a Santa Ana courtroom. Witnesses for the plaintiffs described how Kay was appearing erratically on the stadium and located with a number of plastic baggage full of capsules at his residence and later hospitalized for a drug overdose. In addition they recounted how Kay obtained gamers therapeutic massage appointments, tee instances and even prescription treatment, and was paid by gamers for stunts like taking a fastball to the leg.

Todd Theodora, the legal professional representing the Angels, argued that there was no proof that the group’s coverage makers knew concerning the drug abuse. He additionally stated that once they did study, they fired him. The group’s attorneys stated Skaggs obtained his teammates into taking capsules and obtained Kay to offer them, however saved it secret out of concern it may jeopardize their MLB careers. Had group officers recognized Kay was dealing medicine, or Skaggs was taking them, they’d have achieved one thing, the legal professionals stated.

Witnesses additionally sparred throughout the case over how a lot cash Skaggs would have made as a pitcher had he lived. Specialists for the plaintiffs stated he may have reeled in between $91 million and $101 million, whereas the Angels put the determine at not more than $32 million.

Learn extra: Reds pitcher Wade Miley accused in court docket paperwork of being drug provider for the late Tyler Skaggs

Skaggs was born in Woodland Hills and performed baseball at Santa Monica Excessive College. He was a first-round decide within the 2009 MLB Draft by the Angels. After he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, Skaggs returned to the Angels franchise in a 2014 commerce. He had been a daily within the Angels’ beginning rotation since late 2016 and struggled with accidents repeatedly throughout that point. 

Within the months following Skaggs’ dying, MLB amended its drug testing insurance policies to incorporate opioids and cocaine. Earlier testing was restricted to performance-enhancing medicine and banned stimulants.  

Earlier than the decide introduced the settlement on Friday, jurors had remained behind closed doorways after legal professionals for either side had gone to talk with Colover.

Late Wednesday, jurors had despatched out a be aware asking whether or not they “get to resolve the punitive harm quantity,” saying there isn’t any discipline for it on the decision kind. The decide stated she would ship a be aware replying that in the event that they resolve there must be punitive damages, they’d resolve how a lot at a later time.

The jury didn’t work on Thursday and resumed deliberations on Friday morning.