Almost two years after a jury awarded the family at the center of the “Take Care of Maya” case more than $261 million against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, an appellate court has reversed the entire verdict and cleared the pathway for a new trial.
The Second District Court of Appeals released its opinion on Wednesday, Oct. 29, reversing the entire verdict, including the $208 million in compensatory and punitive damages, and cleared a path for a new trial on a limited number of claims, including Maya Kowalski’s intentional-infliction-of-emotional-distress (IIED) claim, and the remaining false imprisonment, battery and medical-negligence claims.
The appeal’s court found that the trial court erred in not granting the hospital’s direct verdicts and faulted Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll for allowing emotionally charged testimony and arguments that blurred legally immune acts with potential torts.
The decision also reinforces Chapter 39 immunity which protects hospitals and healthcare workers “who might be overzealous in protecting children from potential abuse.”
In August 2024, attorneys for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital filed an appeal asking the appellate court to reverse the final verdict and enter a judgment in favor of the hospital for the wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false-imprisonment claims.
In the appeal, the hospital asked for a new trial based on the trial court’s “erroneous interpretation of Chapter 39” immunity statutes, the damages awarded to the Kowalski family and for any claims that remain after the appeal.
The Kowalski family sued Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in 2018 for $220 million more than a year after wife and mother, Beata Kowalski, took her life after child abuse allegations arose against her. In 2016, the Florida Department of Children and Families opened an investigation which led to then 10-year-old Maya Kowalski being separated from her family.
Previously reported: Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital files appeal in Sarasota ‘Take Care of Maya’ case
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The family took Maya to the hospital in October 2016 due to severe stomachache, which they believed was a relapse of her Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a disorder that impairs the central nervous system and heightens pain sensations.
Hospital staff began to suspect possible child medical abuse after they observed what many testified to as inconsistencies between Maya’s behaviors and her condition. Staff placed calls to the abuse hotline, beginning a more than three-month ordeal for the Kowalski family that it says has haunted them since.
More than five years after the family filed their lawsuit, the case resulted in a two-month-long trial. In November 2023, a six-person jury sided with the family and awarded them more than $261 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The jury deliberated on seven claims, down from the initial more than 20 that had been filed against the hospital, a social worker, and a part-time medical director of the Pinellas Child Protection Team. The claims included battery, fraudulent billing, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and two claims of extreme and outrageous actions towards Maya and Beata Kowalski, which led to Beata taking her life.
Two months after the trial concluded, Carroll partially granted a motion filed by the hospital to decrease the compensatory damages by $47.5 million.
Can’t see the document? Click here to read the court appeal
Wait finally over, appellate court rules in favor of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
In a statement from one of the hospital’s attorneys, Ethen Shapiro noted the opinion sends “a clear and vital message to mandatory reporters in Florida and across the country.”
Throughout the trial, the defense claimed they wanted to take the case to court due to a fear of the “chilling effect” the case would have on mandatory reporters across the country.
Shapiro told media that the hospital was standing up for its own staff who did what they thought was the best course of action for Maya after inconsistences arose in her behavior and diagnoses.
“This opinion sends a clear and vital message to mandatory reporters in Florida and across the country that their duty to report suspicions of child abuse and, critically, their good faith participation in child protection activities remain protected,” Shapiro said in the statement. “The facts and the law have always prioritized protecting children, the most vulnerable among us.”
Under Florida law, any person, official or institution is immune from any civil or criminal liability if they report “in good faith any instance of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect” to law enforcement. The law states that any individual participating in good faith in any act authorized or required by the law is immune as well.
Calls and an email for comment sent to Nick Whitney, the attorney representing the Kowalski family, were not returned prior to publication of this article.
More: Judge partially grants motion decreasing award in ‘Take Care of Maya’ case by $47.5M
‘Take Care of Maya’ trial: The verdict is in, jury makes a decision
What does the opinion mean?
A breakdown of the 48-page opinion found that the court either fully or partially reversed all seven claims awarded in favor of the Kowalskis.
Appellate judges fully reversed the false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress as to Beata Kowalski, medical negligence and fraudulent billing claims, and the $50 million punitive damage award.
The court did partially uphold the claim of intention infliction of emotional distress toward Maya for retrial. The court held that Carroll erred in allowing evidence of acts covered by Chapter 39 to be presented during trial and by allowing the family’s defense to combine conduct supporting the other claims of false imprisonment, battery and negligence with the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
In addition to the majority opinion on the case, Judge Andrea Teves Smith wrote a concurrence in which she elaborated on the issue of evidence that could be presented to satisfy the “outrageousness” threshold in the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim for Maya.
Smith notes that given Maya’s age and vulnerability during the time she was at the hospital, there were certain acts, such as the lies and emotional manipulation by social worker Catherine Bedy and some nurses, which could be constituted as “outrageous” and be used as evidence for the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
“The health care providers were in charge of caring for and treating Maya,” Smith wrote. “Instead, they exploited their positions with full knowledge that Maya, a ten-year-old child, would not be able to endure such outrageous conduct and undoubtedly suffer severe emotional distress as a result.”
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the criminal justice, courts and legal system for the Herald-Tribune. Reach out with a news tip to gszymanowska@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: ‘Take Care of Maya’ verdict against All Children’s Hospital reversed
