Maya Kowalski, the young woman at the center of an alleged child medical abuse case in Florida that drove her mother to suicide and inspired the Netflix documentary ‘Take Care of Maya,’ testified about her experience. This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A Florida jury on Tuesday heard closing arguments in a trial originating from a $220 million civil lawsuit alleging actions of staff at a children’s hospital drove the mother of a sick child to suicide in 2017. Maya Kowalski, the woman at the center of an explosive documentary, “Take Care of Maya,” and her family allege that while Maya was being treated for severe pain at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHAC) when she was 10 years old in 2016, hospital staff falsely accused her mother, Beata Kowalski, of medical child abuse and failed to take Maya’s illness seriously.
A court order removed Maya from the custody of her parents in 2016 after staff accused Beata of “medical abuse,” and Beata took her own life in January 2017.
Maya Kowalski’s mother, Beata Kowalski, was accused of Munchausen by proxy after explaining her daughter’s CRPS and treatment to hospital staff. “One of the most unfortunate parts of this case is the caption: Kowalskis v. All Children’s. We were never against the Kowalski family,” attorney Ethen Shapiro said in his closing statements Tuesday. “The reason why All Children’s did what it did, the reason why All Children’s tried to comfort Maya, the reason why All Children’s tried to get her on a safe medical path is because the loving and caring providers at my clients’ hospital believed in a better future for her if they could get her off the unnecessary drugs given at dangerous levels.”
Attorney Greg Anderson, who is representing the Kowalskis, said in closing arguments that the Kowalski family was treated unfairly during its time at JHAC.
Maya has a rare, chronic neurological illness called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). CPRS is a poorly understood condition that causes severe pain throughout a person’s body due to nervous system dysfunction, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick of Tampa, who specializes in pain relief, initially diagnosed Maya with CRPS when she was 9 years old and helped her get treatment for the illness, which included doses of ketamine to help dull her pain.
However, multiple witnesses, including health care professionals at JHAC, maintained during the trial that Beata was exhibiting signs of Munchausen by proxy and that Maya’s perceived CRPS symptoms were being driven by her mother.
The defense has also accused Beata of giving her daughter unsafe doses of ketamine and shared emails that Beata wrote to herself from Maya’s perspective in 2015 in an effort to prove their argument that Beata was mentally unfit at the time of her daughter’s hospitalization.
The hospital’s defense team has argued the trial is representative of the responsibility that hospital staff have to report suspected child abuse to authorities. The Kowalski family alleged that the power of the large hospital system combined with the power of the state made them helpless in trying to get appropriate help for their daughter.
The Kowalskis also say the hospital billed their insurance company thousands of dollars for CRPS treatments despite the staff’s claims that Maya did not have CRPS.
Anderson previously told Digital his belief that accusing family members of medical abuse is “a convenient way to get rid of troublesome parents, particularly parents that are complaining about a lack of care or attention on their child.”
JHAC previously told Digital in a statement that the hospital’s priority is “always the safety and privacy” of its “patients and their families.”
“It is DCF that investigates the situation and makes the ultimate decision about what course of action is in the best interest of the child.”
This trial sheds light on the allegations of medical abuse against staff at a children’s hospital in Florida. The Kowalski family claims that their daughter’s illness was not taken seriously and that false accusations led to the tragic suicide of Maya’s mother. The trial has raised questions about the responsibility of hospital staff to report suspected child abuse and the power dynamics between families and large hospital systems. The Kowalskis are seeking justice and accountability for the alleged mistreatment they endured during their time at the hospital.
