LAT: Details of Tyler Skaggs’ death could trigger legal battle with millions at stake

[Dollar Bill]

https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2019-08-31/tyler-skaggs-death-drugs-angels-employee-legal-battle

[yk9001]

Thanks, extremely informative article.

[Claude]

Future earnings were definitely in play here. Tyler could’ve cashed in on a pretty lucrative contract at some point. 

[Chuck]

Question? If an employee of the Angels (non medical staff) was the one who dealt the Oxy laced with Fentanyl could they be held accountable in a lawsuit? 

I'm thinking only if it was someone on the medical or training staff, coaches or from the front office right? What if it was a fellow teammate or just Joe Blow that works in ticketing or clubhouse facilities?

Questions, questions. @Dollar Bill

[Lou]

Yes 

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

Yes 

[angelsnationtalk]

Good god it said it could reach a nine figure number.... over $100M. 

Im hoping it was a Joe Blow or some random person. Like I’ve said before, if it was someone directly in every day contact with him that’s a major piece of the Angels then the organization is in big trouble.  

[bruin5]

We’ll find out soon enough because I’m sure the Skaggs family attorney has been on retainer for some time and they will file suit that will name names in short order.   My sense is that he may not have been the only player taking this type of drug.  And, frankly, I’m not sure I believe that Heaney had no clue this was going on....

[Inside Pitch]

7 minutes ago, calscuf said:

No one is talking about the exclusivity provision of workers compensation law.  Honestly I don’t know off the top of my head what the answer is, but I know the Angels will be arguing that all his widow is entitled to the maximum comp death benefit which is about $300K.

Wouldn't that then mean they would also need to prove intent if they intend to pursue damages above 300k?   

I'm guessing bringing suit against the person who gave him the smack as a third party and then holding the Angels responsible for the hire might be their angle?

[mulwin444]

I'm guessing settlement 

[Second Base]

There's a lot I'm wondering about...

1. Where did the Skaggs family get wind that Tyler had obtained the drugs from an Angels organization member? ---I'm guessing he told them himself. 

2. Did the family know that Skaggs was using before the incident? ---I'm guessing yes, they knew, and they said and did nothing about it. 

3. I'm not sure how lucrative of a payday we are talking about here.  The Article says he'd hit free agency at age 29, an unusually young age, and that right there is where I call BS.  It's not unusual AT ALL for a 29 year old veteran starting pitcher to hit free agency.  To top it off, Skaggs' performance was disappointing this year.  If he pitched like that again next year before stepping into free agency then what sort fo contract would he have been looking at?  Maybe 2 years and 20 million?  And if he had managed to pitch like an ace finally in his final year?  He may have got what Eovaldi did in free agency. ---My guess is he probably would've got a Lance Lynn level contract, not 150 million like his friend Pat Corbin got. 

4. Does the family really want to sever their current relationship with the Angels organization over money when it was Skaggs himself that was stupid enough to be ingesting this combination of drugs and alcohol like a common junkie? --- Like Mulwin said, I'm guessing there's some sort of settlement coming.  So that the Angels don't become more financially liable and have a very public legal battle on their hands from the family of a dead teammate and so that Tyler's name isn't dragged in the mud here.  

[beatlesrule]

I don't understand many things about the law and having personally witnessed family and friends go through custody battles(one of many reasons I'm not having children) things that make absolutely no sense to me, make sense in a court of law.

Unless there is some kind of evidence that an Angels employee forcibly made Tyler take those drugs and the alcohol, I don't understand how the Angels are liable for anything. In my opinion, the Skaggs Family are coming off as very greedy. Money money money money money money money. Forgive my ignorance though if they are indeed entitled to millions of dollars. As it stands right now, this looks like it's mostly Skaggs fault. 

Like I stated in another thread, I understand accidentally mixing two drugs together but how in the world can you justify drinking that much alcohol? To me, it's pretty clear that Tyler just messed up but again, I don't always understand the legalities of it all.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

No one goes from casual drinker to downing a six pack and popping pills over night. Skaggs made his decision and unfortunately it turned into a worst case scenario. I’m guessing he didn’t know about the fentanyl but neither did whoever helped him get the pills. It’s sad but not surprising that the reaction of people is to sue or place blame elsewhere.  There’s no winners in this and it won’t make things any better or easier. 

[Lou]

9 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

how in the world can you justify drinking that much alcohol? 

You really think a .12 BAC is that much?

[Stradling]

3 minutes ago, Lou said:

You really think a .12 BAC is that much?

I’m currently right around that myself.  

[beatlesrule]

7 minutes ago, Lou said:

You really think a .12 BAC is that much?

I thought report said he was way over the legal limit. Equivalent to 7 beers or something? You aren't even supposed to mix Tylenol and alcohol together and he had way worse drugs in his system. Again, he should not have been drinking alcohol while taking those drugs, let alone that much alcohol.

[Stradling]

Just now, beatlesrule said:

I thought report said he was way over the legal limit. Equivalent to 7 beers or something? You aren't even supposed to mix Tylenol and alcohol together and he had way worse drugs in his system. Again, he should not have been drinking alcohol while taking those drugs, let alone that much alcohol.

So, you actually think 7 beers is a lot of beers?  

[beatlesrule]

4 minutes ago, Baghdad Strad said:

So, you actually think 7 beers is a lot of beers?  

Mixed with those two drugs? Hell yes!

[GalericX]

"Tyler mixed drugs & alcohol and died, but its not his fault, someone gave him the drugs, and they forced him to drink.  Lets see how much money we can get"

Sounds like millennial reasoning to me.

[Second Base]

41 minutes ago, Baghdad Strad said:

So, you actually think 7 beers is a lot of beers?  

That's a lot of liquid, but as far as the alcohol content, it doesn't seem like a lot. But I suppose it's contextual and dependent upon your tolerance. 

If you're drinking alone in your hotel room and downing opioids....yeah, seven beers would be a lot.

[Stradling]

4 minutes ago, Second Base said:

That's a lot of liquid, but as far as the alcohol content, it doesn't seem like a lot. But I suppose it's contextual and dependent upon your tolerance. 

If you're drinking alone in your hotel room and downing opioids....yeah, seven beers would be a lot.

I’ll go out on a limb and say he and the team were out drinking and then when he got back to the room that is where the drugs came in, but then again I could be totally naive. 

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Doesn't really matter.  When you get to the point where you're mixing booze and pills it's usually because one or the other doesn't have the desired effect. 

[stormngt]

1 hour ago, Lou said:

You really think a .12 BAC is that much?

.12 BAC is a typical weekend night of drinking for most 20 something  adults.   Whe. I was in college 6 beers would put me at .10.  I wasnt enen feeling it.  

[yk9001]

1 hour ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

No one goes from casual drinker to downing a six pack and popping pills over night. Skaggs made his decision and unfortunately it turned into a worst case scenario. I’m guessing he didn’t know about the fentanyl but neither did whoever helped him get the pills. It’s sad but not surprising that the reaction of people is to sue or place blame elsewhere.  There’s no winners in this and it won’t make things any better or easier. 

The patch and pin people had a banner year.

[Vlad27Trout27]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

There's a lot I'm wondering about...

1. Where did the Skaggs family get wind that Tyler had obtained the drugs from an Angels organization member? ---I'm guessing he told them himself. 

2. Did the family know that Skaggs was using before the incident? ---I'm guessing yes, they knew, and they said and did nothing about it. 

3. I'm not sure how lucrative of a payday we are talking about here.  The Article says he'd hit free agency at age 29, an unusually young age, and that right there is where I call BS.  It's not unusual AT ALL for a 29 year old veteran starting pitcher to hit free agency.  To top it off, Skaggs' performance was disappointing this year.  If he pitched like that again next year before stepping into free agency then what sort fo contract would he have been looking at?  Maybe 2 years and 20 million?  And if he had managed to pitch like an ace finally in his final year?  He may have got what Eovaldi did in free agency. ---My guess is he probably would've got a Lance Lynn level contract, not 150 million like his friend Pat Corbin got. 

4. Does the family really want to sever their current relationship with the Angels organization over money when it was Skaggs himself that was stupid enough to be ingesting this combination of drugs and alcohol like a common junkie? --- Like Mulwin said, I'm guessing there's some sort of settlement coming.  So that the Angels don't become more financially liable and have a very public legal battle on their hands from the family of a dead teammate and so that Tyler's name isn't dragged in the mud here.  

perfectly stated. So many questions that haven't been answered.