Skaggs' lawyer: Angels to blame for fatal overdose

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels should beryllium held liable for the cause overdose decease of 1 of its pitchers due to the fact that the squad failed to travel its ain cause policies and fto an addicted and cause dealing worker enactment connected the occupation and person entree to the players, a lawyer for the pitcher's household said connected Tuesday.

The allegations came successful opening statements of the long-awaited civilian proceedings successful a wrongful decease suit filed by the woman and parents of Tyler Skaggs. The household contends that the MLB squad should beryllium held liable for the 27-year-old pitcher's decease aft its connection director, Eric Kay, was convicted of providing the fentanyl-tainted pill that led to Skaggs' fatal overdose connected a squad travel to Texas successful 2019.

Plaintiffs' lawyer Shawn Holley told jurors that Angels officials knew Kay was addicted to opioids and showing up precocious to work, and providing drugs to astatine slightest six players including Skaggs. Holley said the Angels repeatedly failed to travel the team's cause policies erstwhile it came to Kay, adjacent assigning him to travel the squad to Texas soon aft helium had gone done rehab, but afloat enforced the rules erstwhile it came to lower-level employees who had stadium jobs.

"They buried their heads successful the soil implicit and implicit and implicit again, and arsenic a effect Tyler Skaggs is dead," Holley told jurors.

Lawyers for the Angels, who volition code the assemblage aboriginal connected Tuesday, contend that contempt Kay's conviction, the autopsy results showed Skaggs had besides been drinking and taking oxycodone erstwhile helium died, and was snorting painkillers alternatively of taking them arsenic they would beryllium prescribed. The squad besides argues that Skaggs and Kay were disconnected work and the player's actions successful the privateness of his edifice country could not person been prevented by the Angels.

Skaggs' woman and parent were successful tribunal for opening statements, arsenic were Angels proprietor Arte Moreno, the team's president John Carpino, lawyers and quality reporters.

The civilian lawsuit successful a Santa Ana courtroom -- which seeks hundreds of millions of dollars -- comes much than six years aft Skaggs was recovered dormant successful the suburban Dallas edifice country wherever helium was staying arsenic the Angels were expected to unfastened a four-game bid against the Texas Rangers. A coroner's study says Skaggs choked to decease connected his vomit and that a toxic premix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was recovered successful his system.

Kay was convicted successful 2022 of providing Skaggs with an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and sentenced to 22 years successful national prison. His national transgression proceedings successful Texas included grounds from 5 MLB players who said they received oxycodone from Kay astatine assorted times from 2017 to 2019, the years helium was accused of obtaining pills and giving them to Angels players.

Holley told jurors that Angels players were buying drugs from Kay astatine the clubhouse, successful the locker country and successful the parking batch of the team's Southern California stadium to assistance them play done the pain. In 2019, Kay was hospitalized owed to his ain cause usage and his woman recovered substance messages connected his telephone indicating helium had been providing drugs to the players, which she shared with Angels officials, Holley said.

"Eric regularly supplied the drugs they needed to execute and they trusted him," Holley said. "It was rampant, retired of power and incredibly dangerous."

Plaintiffs are seeking $118 cardinal for Skaggs' mislaid net arsenic good arsenic compensation for the family's suffering and punitive damages against the team, Holley said.

After Skaggs' death, the MLB reached a woody with the players relation to commencement investigating for opioids and to notation those who trial affirmative to the attraction board. The United States has been grappling with a question of overdose deaths, galore owed to the potency of fentanyl, among young people, with overdoses reported arsenic the starring origin of decease for radical 18-44 years aged successful 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Skaggs had been a regular successful the Angels' starting rotation since precocious 2016, erstwhile the left-hander returned from Tommy John surgery. He struggled with injuries repeatedly during that time.

Before pitching for the Angels, Skaggs played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The proceedings is expected to instrumentality weeks and could see grounds from players including Angels outfielder Mike Trout and the team's erstwhile pi...