TAMPA, Fla. - More than a year after a jury awarded Maya Kowalski's family more than $200 million in the ‘Take Care of Maya’ case, lawyers gave arguments in a Tampa courtroom on Wednesday for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital's appeal.
Maya Kowalski's family vs. All Children's Hospital
The backstory:
Maya Kowalski's family sued Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for $220 million, claiming its actions led family matriarch Beata Kowalski to take her own life.
The family said they took Maya to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in October 2016 when she was experiencing a flare up of pain from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS, a disease she was diagnosed with by a doctor not affiliated with the hospital.
Maya said she had been receiving ketamine to treat the pain and even underwent a ketamine coma in Mexico. While at the hospital, Beata Kowalski insisted that Maya receive ketamine treatments, but hospital staff did not agree.
Pictured: Beata and Maya Kowalski
Beata Kowalski's persistence alarmed hospital staff, and they called in a report to the Child Abuse Hotline. They suspected Beata Kowalski, who was a registered nurse, was making her daughter sick.
A judge ordered Maya to be sheltered at the medical facility under state custody while allegations of child abuse were investigated. The judge said Maya was not allowed to have physical contact with her mother.
After 87 days without seeing her daughter, Beata Kowalski died by suicide.
The trial lasted eight weeks, during which jurors heard from the Kowalski family, doctors, nurses and experts. The jury found the hospital liable on all seven counts – including false imprisonment, medical negligence, battery, fraud and intentionally inflicting emotional distress on the family – reaching its $261 million verdict in November 2023.
Pictured: Maya Kowalski in November 2023.
The Sarasota County judge who presided over the case later reduced the damages to $208 million.
"To me, it was about the answer, knowing that my mom was right. I want people to know that. She wasn’t harming me at all," Kowalski said at the time.
Attorneys for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital said the fight wasn't over. In January 2024, the judge rejected a motion for a new trial. Soon after, the hospital filed an appeal.
"We just believe they got it wrong," attorney Howard Hunter, who represents the hospital, said after the verdict came down. "They had a very complicated case. A very complicated set of jury instructions, a very complicated verdict form and situation. And, we feel like we have a lot of good reasons to appeal."
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The appeal
What they're saying:
On Wednesday, attorney Derek Stikeleather argued the hospital did not get a fair trial, saying it should not be held liable for the suicide of a non-patient three months after she had last been at the hospital.
Stikeleather also pushed back against the Kowalski family's claims of insurance fraud, then argued that the trial court "profoundly misconstrued" immunity protections when reporting possible child abuse.
"These three major errors set the stage for wild allegations that this is a hospital that kidnapped and tortured a little girl in order to kill her mother," Stikeleather said.
Attorney Derek Stikeleather gave oral arguments on behalf of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
Attorney Mike Tanner argued on behalf of the Kowalski family, saying the hospital is misinterpreting the scope of immunity when suspected child abuse is reported.
Tanner also fought back against the hospital's claim that the Department of Children and Families tightly controlled everything Maya could and couldn't do during her time there.
"It's a significant exaggeration to say that DCF was involved in the details of what Maya could do – scheduling phone calls, whether she kept her bathroom door open – that was all done by the hospital," Tanner said.
Attorney Mike Tanner gave oral arguments on behalf of the Kowalski family.
For more information on Florida Statute 39.203, which addresses immunity when reporting child abuse, click here.
What's next:
The Second District Court of Appeal is expected to rule on the hospital's appeal at a later date.
The Source: This story was written using oral arguments before the Second District Court of Appeal along with previous FOX 13 News reports.
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