A prominent orthopedic surgeon denied during testimony Wednesday, Dec. 3 in the Tyler Skaggs wrongful death trial that he was informed of the Los Angeles Angels pitcher’s issues with opioids when he performed Tommy John surgery on him in 2014.

The testimony by Dr. Neal ElAttrache contradicted earlier claims by Skaggs’ mother that he was told Skaggs had battled an addiction to painkillers. Since the medical procedure was effectively a workers compensation issue for the Angels, the organization would have had access to medical records tied to the Tommy John surgery; exactly what the team knew about Skaggs’ use of illicit pills and when they knew it is a key question in the ongoing trial.

“Were you ever advised by Tyler Skaggs or anyone in his family that Tyler had a previous issue with

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