Angels settle wrongful-death suit with Tyler Skaggs family; terms confidential
Settlement reached as jurors neared a decision on damages in the civil case over the 2019 death linked to fentanyl-laced pills provided by a team employee.
The Los Angeles Angels and the family of Tyler Skaggs reached a confidential settlement Friday in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed after Skaggs’ 2019 overdose death in Texas, effectively ending a roughly two-month civil trial in Santa Ana.
The case centered on whether the Angels bore responsibility for Skaggs’ death after he was given a fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pill by Eric Kay, the team’s former communications director. Kay was later convicted in Texas in 2022 and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Skaggs, a left-handed pitcher, died at age 27 on July 1, 2019, in a Southlake hotel room ahead of a series with the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report said he choked on his own vomit after ingesting the illicit drug mix.
The plaintiffs had sought about $118 million in damages, including lost future earnings, pain and suffering, and punitive damages. The Angels argued that Skaggs took the drugs in his private time and that the team was not responsible for his death. Jurors had spent days weighing the evidence, with testimony detailing a culture around drugs and party behavior among some players, according to trial records and testimony summarized in court.
The trial produced a wide range of witness testimony. Mike Trout, the Angels’ star outfielder and a three-time MVP, testified about his observations of Kay’s pattern of distributing pills and arranging perks for players, while also recounting moments when teammates warned of the risks. Trout described a clubhouse climate in which Kay was seen as a go-between for players’ access to medications, a dynamic highlighted by several witnesses who said Kay supplied or facilitated drugs and other perks as part of “clubhouse stunts.” Other players testified about paying Kay for various favors, including massages and tee times, and about Kay’s pattern of behavior that teammates and club personnel said had become known within the club. The defense argued that the team would have intervened if it had known of such issues, but plaintiffs contended the organization should have recognized the warning signs earlier and acted accordingly.
Testimony in the California portion of the case described how Skaggs had battled painkiller use earlier in his career, including a prior addiction to Percocet during his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Skaggs’ widow, Carli Skaggs, and his mother, Debbie Hetman, testified about the impact of his death on the family and the pursuit of accountability. Carli Skaggs spoke of not having fully understood the extent of her husband’s struggles at the time, and she described the efforts the family undertook to seek a public accounting of what happened and why.
The trial also explored how Kay allegedly kept pills and other medications in the clubhouse and on road trips, and how the team’s public posture at times emphasized family-friendly moments while privately dealing with drug-use concerns. In one notable moment, jurors heard that Kay had been involved in arranging certain perks for players and that he had returned to work on a road trip soon after completing rehab, which the plaintiffs argued reflected a troubling pattern. A jury that had begun deliberations earlier in the week wrestled with questions about dividing responsibility among Skaggs, Kay and the Angels, with some jurors signaling belief that negligence fell on the team.
As jurors neared final deliberations, the two sides reached a last-minute settlement. Judge H. Shaina Colover thanked the jurors for their service as the decision to resolve the case was announced. One juror described the moment as meaningful, noting that attempting to assign a dollar value to a life would otherwise be an extraordinarily difficult and sensitive task. The jurors had previously indicated they believed the Angels were negligent and were in the process of determining a percentage of responsibility when the settlement was reached.
The Angels issued a statement saying the death of Tyler Skaggs was a tragedy and that the settlement would allow the club and the family to move forward. Plaintiffs’ counsel Rusty Hardin said the settlement represented accountability and thanked the jury and legal team for their work in bringing the truth to light. The family emphasized that while nothing can bring Tyler back, the settlement would help them honor his memory and push for changes to reduce the risk of similar tragedies in the sport.
The case had drawn attention to questions about how MLB teams monitor players’ access to prescription medications and how club staff may influence or enable risky behavior. Kay’s criminal conviction and the testimony of multiple players who said they received oxycodone from him during the two years leading up to Skaggs’ death were central to the civil case. While the settlement ends the civil dispute, Kay’s criminal case remains part of the public record, and the broader conversation about opioid use in professional sports continues.
In a final note on the settlement, the family’s attorney said the outcome would hopefully prompt Major League Baseball to act on issues of accountability and safety within clubs. The Angels’ leadership and ownership groups have faced ongoing scrutiny over the handling of the Skaggs incident and whether more could have been done to prevent such a tragedy. The two sides did not disclose the terms of the settlement, and a court clerk noted the agreement is confidential.
The Skaggs family will now seek to honor Tyler’s memory through charitable work and continued advocacy around opioid safety and player welfare, while the Angels look to move past the civil dispute and focus on the field.