Ethan Rhodes
Maya Kowalski's father, Jack Kowalski, sued Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for $220 million, alleging malpractice, false imprisonment, battery, medical negligence, and emotional distress. Maya was admitted to the hospital in October 2016 for a flare-up of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a rare chronic condition. The hospital staff were unfamiliar with CRPS and concerned about the ketamine treatment Maya was receiving. They contacted Child Protective Services, suspecting Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and Maya was separated from her parents for over 90 days. Maya's mother, Beata Kowalski, took her own life in January 2017, after 87 days without seeing her daughter. The lawsuit, which was the subject of the Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya, sought to hold the hospital accountable for its role in Beata's suicide and Maya's treatment.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Maya's Dad | Jack Kowalski |
| Name of Hospital | Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital |
| Location of Hospital | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Amount Sued For | $200 million, $220 million, $261 million |
| Reasons for Lawsuit | Medical malpractice, false imprisonment, battery, medical negligence, emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress |
| Name of Maya's Mother | Beata Kowalski |
| Outcome of Lawsuit | Jury found in favor of the Kowalski family, awarding $261 million in total compensatory and punitive damages |
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What You'll Learn
Maya's rare chronic condition
Maya Kowalski was born in Florida to Beata and Jack Kowalski. Maya has a younger brother named Kyle. In 2015, when Maya was 9 years old, she began experiencing debilitating pain that caused her feet to curl and made it nearly impossible for her to walk. She also suffered from asthma attacks, severe headaches, and lesions on her arms and legs.
In October 2016, Maya, then 10 years old, was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for a flare-up of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) symptoms. CRPS is a rare and debilitating chronic condition that causes pain, often burning sensations, in the extremities. Maya had been living with her condition for over a year at this point. Her parents, Beata and Jack, had taken her to a CRPS specialist, Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who suggested that ketamine, a strong general anesthetic, was the best way to alleviate Maya's pain.
Maya's symptoms were so severe that she was placed in an experimental "ketamine coma" that drastically, but temporarily, reduced her CRPS symptoms. However, doctors at All Children's Hospital were unfamiliar with Maya's diagnosis and grew suspicious of her parents' choice of ketamine treatments. The hospital consulted with Dr. Sally Smith, a child abuse pediatrician working for Child Protective Services, who opened an abuse investigation. Dr. Smith eventually misdiagnosed Maya with Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, a mental illness in which a person (in this case, Maya's mother) acts as if someone they're caring for has a physical or mental illness when they don't.
As a result of this misdiagnosis, Maya was separated from her parents and kept away from her family for over 87 days. She was only allowed to see her father, Jack, under strict supervision, and her mother, Beata, was not allowed to see her at all. This situation ultimately led to Beata Kowalski taking her own life in January 2017.
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Ketamine treatment
Maya Kowalski suffered from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a rare and debilitating chronic condition. She was also experiencing asthma attacks, severe headaches, and lesions on her arms and legs. Maya's father, Jack Kowalski, filed a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, alleging medical malpractice, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The hospital's use of ketamine as a treatment for Maya's condition was a central issue in the case.
Ketamine is a synthetic drug that was first created in the early 1960s as another form of anesthetic. It is widely used in hospitals and veterinary clinics for this purpose. It can also be abused recreationally, and in high doses, it can cause a coma or even death. Ketamine has hallucinogenic effects and can make patients feel detached. Due to these effects, it is also used in the treatment of mental health illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain. Ketamine works by blocking the activity of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in the brain, which is involved in regulating mood, cognition, and pain perception.
In the case of Maya Kowalski, the hospital reported that she had received 55 doses of ketamine over a 9-month period, at doses far exceeding the FDA-approved limit. The hospital's attorneys argued that they were acting out of reasonable caution while trying to figure out how to treat Maya. However, the Kowalski family's lawyer claimed that Maya was falsely imprisoned and battered, and denied communication with her family. The jury ultimately awarded the Kowalski family $261 million in damages, including $50 million in punitive damages for false imprisonment, battery, and medical negligence.
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Allegations of child abuse
Maya Kowalski suffered from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a rare and debilitating chronic condition. In October 2016, Maya, then aged 9 or 10, was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, due to a flare-up of her symptoms. Maya's parents, Beata and Jack Kowalski, had been treating her CRPS with ketamine, a strong general anaesthetic, as suggested by CRPS specialist Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick.
However, doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital were unfamiliar with Maya's diagnosis and grew suspicious of her parents' choice of treatment. They contacted Dr. Sally Smith, a child abuse pediatrician from Child Protective Services, who opened an abuse investigation. Dr. Smith concluded that Beata was abusing Maya and that she had Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, a mental illness where a person acts as if someone they care for is ill when they are not.
Maya was subsequently separated from her parents and kept in the hospital for 87 days, during which time she was not allowed to see her mother and could only see her father under strict supervision. Maya was also denied gifts from her family, including Holy Communion. Beata was only able to speak to her daughter under the strict supervision of Cathi Bedy, a Suncoast social worker. Maya was also denied communication with her family when she spoke Polish on the phone so that hospital staff could understand what she was saying.
Maya's health declined during her time in the hospital, where she was not able to receive ketamine treatments. Her father, Jack, said that it took a year and a half for Maya to walk on her own again after her release. The family also claimed that hospital staff billed Jack's insurance using the code for treating complex regional pain syndrome, despite concluding that Maya's symptoms were fake.
In January 2017, less than 48 hours after seeing her daughter in person for the first time in three months, Beata Kowalski died by suicide. The following year, Jack Kowalski filed a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, alleging medical malpractice, false imprisonment, battery, medical negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit stated that the hospital staff's conduct caused Beata to take her own life.
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False imprisonment
In the case of Maya Kowalski, the jury found Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital liable for false imprisonment, among other charges, in its treatment of Maya. Maya's father, Jack Kowalski, filed a lawsuit on behalf of his children and his late wife, Beata Kowalski, alleging medical malpractice, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The family claimed that Maya was "'medically kidnapped'" and falsely imprisoned during her three-month stay at the hospital when she was 10 years old. They argued that Maya was confined and denied communication with her family, specifically highlighting that hospital staff wouldn't allow her to speak with her mother in Polish.
The hospital's defense argued that they were following the state's orders in restricting visitation based on reasonable suspicion of medical child abuse. They claimed that their actions were taken out of "'reasonable caution'" while determining the appropriate treatment for Maya. However, the jury found the hospital's actions to be unlawful, resulting in a substantial award of damages to the Kowalski family.
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Emotional distress
Maya Kowalski, who was born in Florida to Beata and Jack Kowalski, began experiencing debilitating pain in 2015 when she was 9 years old. She was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a rare and debilitating chronic condition that causes pain, often burning sensations, in the extremities.
In October 2016, Maya, then 10 years old, was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital due to a flare-up of her CRPS symptoms. Her parents had been following the treatment plan of a CRPS specialist, Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, which included administering ketamine, a strong general anesthetic. However, the hospital staff were unfamiliar with CRPS and Maya's diagnosis, and they grew concerned about the amount of ketamine she had been receiving.
The hospital staff suspected that Maya was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental illness in which a person acts as if someone they are caring for has a physical or mental illness when they do not. They contacted Child Protective Services, and Dr. Sally Smith, a child abuse pediatrician, concluded that Beata was abusing Maya. Maya was subsequently separated from her parents and placed in state custody for over 90 days. She was not allowed to see her mother and was only permitted to see her father under strict supervision.
Maya's father, Jack Kowalski, filed a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, alleging medical malpractice, false imprisonment, battery, medical negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit claimed that the hospital staff's "extreme and outrageous" conduct caused Maya and her mother, Beata, severe emotional distress, leading to Beata's suicide in January 2017.
The jury found the hospital liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress on Maya and her mother, awarding the Kowalski family a total of $261 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The decision brought a sense of justice and vindication to Maya and her family, helping them find closure and move forward after their traumatic experience.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Maya's father, Jack Kowalski, sued Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for $220 million.
Maya was admitted to the hospital in October 2016 for a flare-up of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) symptoms. The hospital staff were unfamiliar with CRPS and concerned about the amount of ketamine Maya had been receiving. They contacted child protective services, suspecting that Maya was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and Maya was subsequently separated from her parents for over 90 days. Maya's mother, Beata, died by suicide in January 2017, after 87 days without seeing her daughter. The lawsuit alleged medical malpractice, false imprisonment, battery, medical negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In November 2023, a jury found in favor of the Kowalski family, awarding them $261 million in total compensatory and punitive damages. However, the judge granted a defense motion for remittitur, reducing the award by $47.5 million.
Yes, a Netflix documentary titled "Take Care of Maya" premiered in June 2023 and chronicles the Kowalski family's ordeal.
