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Teenager removed by state and kept in Florida hospital against her will before her mother committed suicide over their separation and her family was finally able to appear in court nearly five years after filing a lawsuit .
Maya Kowalski, 17, was taken into custody for three months after doctors accused her parents of faking the symptoms of her debilitating Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CPRS).
The Florida Department of Children and Families and a state judge supported Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital staff’s suspicions of “medical child abuse” and she was placed in the custody of the DCF.
After being separated from her daughter, then 10, for almost 3 months and receiving a court order denying her the right to see her child, Beata committed suicide – a tragedy that continues to haunt the family Kowalski.
Family detailed their heartbreaking experience in explosive message Netflix documentary that was released on June 19.
The family of Maya Kowalski (left), who say she was “held captive” by a Florida hospital when she was 10, was finally able to appear in court nearly five years after filing a lawsuit.
Beata (right), Maya’s mother, committed suicide after being diagnosed with depression and adjustment disorders after being separated from her, then 10, for 87 days.
On Thursday, the civil trial the family had been desperately waiting for finally began at the South County Courthouse in Venice, Florida. This should take up to eight weeks.
In addition to damages, Judge Hunter Carroll ruled that the jury can consider awarding punitive damages for battery and false imprisonment – if it sides with the Kowalski family.
AndersonGlenn LLP, which launched the lawsuit on behalf of the Kowalski family, exclusively told DailyMail.com that the family hopes to seek $55 million in compensatory damages and $165 million in punitive damages.
Jennifer Anderson told DailyMail.com: “Everyone is relieved that we will finally have our time in court. (They started) jury selection today.
In a previous interview, Greg Anderson, who is also part of Kowalski’s legal team, said: “One of the most surprising injuries that will be revealed at trial is the exacerbation of Maya’s CRPS following the malpractice by Johns Hopkin in misdiagnosing CRPS as Munchausen by proxy. (MSP).’
MSP is a mental illness and form of child abuse in which a child’s caregiver, most often a mother, invents false symptoms or induces real symptoms to make it appear that the child is sick.
During Maya’s stay in hospital, it is claimed she was filmed for 48 hours and, on another occasion, stripped down to her underwear and photographed with permission from a guardian or the Court of Justice. Dependencies.
Hospital employees also refused to let Maya’s parents take their daughter to another hospital before the state intervened, according to the lawsuit.
Ryan Towey, a member of the team working with the firm representing JHACH, released a statement to DailyMail.com.
“Our priority at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is always the safety and privacy of our patients and their families.
“Therefore, we follow strict federal privacy laws that limit the amount of information we can disclose regarding a particular case.”
“Our first responsibility is always to the child entrusted to us. Our staff is required by law to notify the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) if they suspect abuse or neglect.
“It is DCF and a judge – not Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital – who investigate the situation and make the final decision about what course of action to take in the best interest of the child.”
“We are determined to avoid any chilling effect on reporting suspected child abuse in order to protect the most vulnerable among us.”
Catherine Bedy, a former social worker at All Children’s Hospital, is also named as a defendant in the case.
In Carroll’s order authorizing punitive damages, he wrote that on several occasions Bedy “kissed, caressed or placed the child on his lap,” the Tampa Bay Times reported.
AndersonGlenn LLP, which launched the lawsuit on behalf of the Kowalski family, exclusively told DailyMail.com that the family hopes to seek $55 million in compensatory damages and $165 million in punitive damages.
Maya, now 17, was held in police custody for three months after doctors accused her parents of faking the symptoms of her debilitating Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CPRS).
Ethen Shapiro exclusively told DailyMail.com in July that the court had “already determined” that the hospital had “reasonable grounds to suspect that Maya Kowalski’s mother was abusing her.”
“Quite simply, Catherine Bedy beat (Maya) repeatedly,” Carroll wrote, adding that the hospital’s risk management office was aware of her behavior, directed it and repeatedly enabled her to interact with the child.
Ethen Shapiro exclusively told DailyMail.com in July that the court has “already determined” that the hospital had “reasonable grounds to suspect that Maya Kowalski’s mother was abusing her.”
In Shapiro’s response, he cited partial depositions and transcripts provided to DailyMail.com from the more than 3,000 court filings related to the case.
“There are hundreds of publicly available court documents that completely contradict Netflix’s narrative,” Shapiro said in criticizing the documentary.
The hospital’s defense is expected to focus on the staff’s status as mandatory reporters, required by state law to call the abuse hotline if they have “reasonable cause “, reported the Tampa Bay Times.
Shapiro previously said the decision to house Maya at the hospital was not made by the hospital but by the state’s child welfare system.
The Kowalski family story was launched onto the national stage after the release of the damning Netflix documentary.
The publicity has raised some concerns about assembling an impartial jury, with the judge recently agreeing to the hospital’s request that those chosen, who saw the program, be interviewed individually so as not to influence others potential jurors.
That could mean jury selection could take up to a week or more.
The family detailed their harrowing experience in an explosive Netflix documentary, released June 19.
A second abuse report was written by Sally Smith, the former medical director of Pinellas Child Welfare, who led an investigation into Maya’s case. She has since retired and settled with the Kowalski family for $2.5 million.
“We would prefer it not to happen this way,” Nick Whitney, the family’s lawyer, told the Tampa Bay Times.
“But it’s probably helpful to eliminate a possible appeal issue.”
The documentary also raised concerns about the Florida Department of Children’s role in the case.
A second abuse report was written by Sally Smith, the former medical director of Pinellas Child Welfare, who led an investigation into Maya’s case.
Smith had been employed by Suncoast Center, a nonprofit contracted by the Florida Department of Health. She retired in July 2022.
She and the nonprofit, originally named as defendants, settled with the Kowalski family for $2.5 million, according to The cup.