VENICE, Fla. — A jury found Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital liable for extensive damages in the $220 million medical malpractice lawsuit levied against it by a Venice family at the center of the Netflix documentary "Take Care of Maya."
Maya Kowalski broke down in tears as the verdict was read Thursday afternoon in a Sarasota County courtroom. The jury awarded the Kowalski family $212 million plus $50 million in punitive damages.
The Venice-based Kowalski family sued the St. Petersburg-based hospital over allegations of malpractice, false imprisonment and wrongful death for causing Maya's mom, Beata, to take her own life.
It was found liable for claims including false improvement, medical negligence, fraudulent billing, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death.
From the beginning, this case hasn't been typical. Because of the widely-circulated Netflix documentary, jury selection was unique — rather than a courtroom full of prospective jurors, a more private selection process was taken in an effort to keep jury tainting to a minimum.
Hospital staff accused Beata Kowalski of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, medical child abuse and doctor shopping. They said she was causing her then-10-year-old daughter's illness to get worse by giving her excessive doses of pain medication and sedatives, such as ketamine.
The Kowalski family's story began in October 2016. Maya's parents, Jack and Beata, drove from their home in Venice to the emergency room after their 10-year-old daughter was experiencing excruciating pain. They said the pain was from debilitating Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) which Maya was receiving doses of ketamine as part of her medical treatment as recommended by specialists.
Evidence in court during the trial showed at the time several doctors and experts questioned the CRPS claims because Maya's symptoms and story didn't correlate. Instead, many of them deduced there was a psychological component to Maya's illness and that her relationship with her mother was manifesting physically, requiring psychiatric care and physical therapy.
Maya, now 17, was separated from her family for three months. It was during this time her mother took her own life, leaving behind notes — including ones for the judge and hospital staff — that expressed her despair and frustration.
The Kowalski family sued for $220 million for allegations including false imprisonment, battery, medical negligence and emotional distress. After facing accusations of child abuse and being prevented from contact with her daughter for nearly 90 days, Beata Kowalski took her own life. The family blamed the hospital for her death and called their conduct extreme and outrageous.
According to the hospital, staff managed Maya's condition according to standard care and acted reasonably and in the patient's interest. They said the treatments sought by the patient's mother were dangerous and raised enough concern to be reported to the Department of Children and Welfare. They argue staff followed orders according to the law.
In a statement, Howard Hunter, the hospital's lead counsel, said Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital plans to appeal the verdict, maintaining that hospital staff acted in Maya's best interest.
Here is the full statement from Attorney Howard Hunter:
“We thank the jury for their time and attention during this trial and intend to pursue an appeal based on clear and prejudicial errors throughout the trial and deliberate conduct by plaintiff’s counsel that misled the jury. The evidence clearly showed that Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital followed Florida’s mandatory reporting law in reporting suspected child abuse and, when those suspicions were confirmed by the district court, fully complied with Department of Children and Families (DCF) and court orders.
We are determined to defend the vitally important obligation of mandatory reporters to report suspected child abuse and protect the smallest and most vulnerable among us. The facts and the law remain on our side, and we will continue to defend the lifesaving and compassionate care provided to Maya Kowalski by the physicians, nurses and staff of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the responsibility of all mandatory reporters in Florida to speak up if they suspect child abuse.”