Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital is taking steps to appeal paying $208 million in damages to a family after a jury ruled it falsely imprisoned a 10-year-old girl, which contributed to her mother's suicide.
The award was granted to the family of Maya Kowalski, and her case was profiled in a June 2023 Netflix documentary, “Take Care of Maya.”
The Tampa Bay Times reports that lawyers for the St. Petersburg hospital filed an initial appeal, arguing that the damages were excessive and citing that testimony by Maya emotionally inflamed the jury.
In October 2016, Maya was rushed from her Venice home to the emergency room for severe pain. The symptoms were something her doctors had already diagnosed as complex regional pain disorder, an illness causing intermittent chronic pain that can be disabling.
But once inside the hospital, doctors questioned the diagnosis and treatment she'd received. Doctors and social workers suspected her mother, Beata, of medical abuse and reported their concerns about possible child abuse to the Florida Department of Children and Families. DCF opened an investigation, leading to a court order that Maya be sheltered at the hospital.
For over three months, Maya had little to no contact with her parents. During that time, Maya’s mother, Beata, committed suicide. She left behind notes that expressed her anguish of being separated from Maya as well as the abuse accusations.
In November 2023, after an eight-week trial in Venice, a jury found the hospital liable for its mistreatment of Maya and contributing to Beata’s death.
During the trial, a 17-year-old Maya gave tearful testimony about the last time she saw her mother and about the night of her mother’s death.
The jury ordered All Children’s to pay $261 million to the Kowalski family and an additional $50 million in punitive damages. In January, the judge decreased the amount by about 20 percent.
Information from Meghan Bowman was used in this report.
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