On Thursday, 17-year-old Maya Kowalski was awarded $220 million in her lawsuit against the Florida-based Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital after the hospital was found liable for malpractice.
According to the New York Post, the Kowalski family sued the facility for $220 million in October 2018 after the state removed Kowalski for 85 days in 2015 when she was just ten years old. At the time, doctors accused her parents of failing symptoms for a rare condition she has known as complex regional pain syndrome.
In 2017, her mother, Beata Kowalski, took her own life inside the garage of their family home due to the depression and distress that came following her daughter’s removal.
On Thursday, according to The Daily Mail, jurors found the children's hospital liable for false imprisonment of Maya, battery of Maya, fraudulent billing of her father, Jack; inflicting emotional distress on Beata; wrongful death claim for the estate of Beata; and intentionally inflicting emotional distress on Maya.
Maya and her brother and father broke down in tears as the verdict was read in the St. Petersburg courtroom.
Following the ruling, attorney Howard Hunter, who represented Johns Hopkins in the case, asserted that the children’s hospital would appeal the decision.
'The facts and the law remain on our side, and we will continue to defend the lifesaving and compassionate care provided to Maya Kowalski by the physicians, nurses, and staff of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the responsibility of all mandatory reporters in Florida to speak up if they suspect child abuse,” Hunter told the Daily Mail in a statement.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Anderson, who represents part of the legal counsel for the Kowalski family, expressed gratitude that the jury ruled in their favor.
'We are obviously grateful for the time and effort of the jury and Court, and the family is completely grateful to be vindicated and truly prays this makes a change for other families in the future.'
Maya’s story can also be seen in the documentary ‘Take Care of Maya' on Netflix.
Photo Courtesy: Screenshot @10 Tampa Bay via YouTube
Video Courtesy: 10 Tampa Bay via YouTube
Video Courtesy: Netflix via YouTube
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
