LA Angels settle with family of pitcher who died of fentanyl overdose
The Los Angeles Angels reached a confidential settlement Friday with the family of late pitcher Tyler Skaggs after a lengthy trial that detailed drug use by players.
The two-month trial centered on whether the Angels bore responsibility for Skaggs’ 2019 overdose death on a team trip to Texas after he’d been given a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl by the team’s then-communications director, Eric Kay. The last-minute settlement was reached as jurors were nearing the end of their deliberations, they said.
The jury had concluded the Angels were negligent and had moved on to determining what percentage of responsibility the team shared for Skaggs’ death, said juror Jasson Thach.
“The repeated negligence of the Angels was really it,” Thach said, adding the group had been estimating damages at between $60 million and $100 million.
The trial drew outfielder Mike Trout, Angels president John Carpino and other team employees to the stand, as well as relatives of Skaggs and Kay. Testimony described how players drank and partied on the team plane and paid Kay for clubhouse stunts including taking a fastball to the leg.
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