Warning: This article contains repeated mentions of suicide and death.
The family of a teenager, whose heartbreaking ordeal was spotlighted in the Take Care of Maya documentary, was awarded more than $211 million in damages after a two-month-long civil trial.
On Thursday (November 9), a Florida jury found that Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and the Department of Children and Families were liable for the wrongful death of Maya Kowalski's mother, Beata Kowalski, who tragically died by suicide.
According to CourtTV, the six-person jury deliberated for two days before concluding that the medical center in St. Petersburg was responsible for several claims, including the wrongful death of the mother and inflicting emotional distress on her, along with false imprisonment, battery, and inflicting emotional distress on her 17-year-old daughter.
The institution was also found liable for the deceitful billing of Maya's father, Jack Kowalski, as reported by The Tampa Bay Times.
The trial began five years after the Kowalskis filed a $220 million lawsuit against Florida's Department of Children and Families (DCF), Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, and other key individuals.
Maya was only 10 years old when she started suffering from symptoms of a rare neurological condition. Her desperate parents sought several medical professionals to find out what was wrong with their daughter so they came across Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick who officially diagnosed her with CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome).
The professional prescribed Maya high doses of ketamine but it failed to work so the Kowalski family traveled to Monterrey, Mexico so that their daughter could be put in a ketamine coma. The treatment worked temporarily as one year later, the little girl battled stomach pain so her parents rushed her to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
The medical establishment alerted a child abuse pediatrician named Dr. Sally Smith to carry out an investigation after Beata - who was a registered nurse - urged medics to administer a high dose of ketamine, the one treatment they believed was sufficient for their daughter's discomfort.
They later accused the mother of child abuse and of having Munchausen by proxy - a mental illness where a parent makes up symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like their child is ill.
As a result, the courts removed Maya from her family's custody despite a court-ordered psychological evaluation eventually determining that the mother did not have the mental illness.
According to court appearances, during this time hospital staff at the medical facility had allegedly videotaped Maya for 48 hours and stripped her down to her underwear for photographs without the proper permission. They also allegedly refused to let Maya's parents transfer her to another hospital which continued to exasperate other problems.
Despite the psychological evaluation conclusion, the mother was still not allowed to see her daughter for over three months so she became increasingly depressed and ultimately ended up taking her own life at the age of 43.
As the verdict was read to the court, the loving family, who had fought for five years to get the case in front of a jury, was seen sobbing and embracing each other.
Maya also spoke to the press outside of the courtroom and said: "For the first time I feel like I've got justice. To a lot of people that is unfortunately something they can't feel, and I'm just blessed I could feel that for myself, for others, and for my mom," per Court TV.
The teenager then went on to reveal pieces of jewelry dedicated to her doting mom, including a pendant encompassing herself and her late parent.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org
