SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Earlier this month, a jury found Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital liable for extensive damages in the medical malpractice lawsuit levied against it by a Venice family at the center of the Netflix documentary "Take Care of Maya."
Now, the hospital is objecting to the multi-million-dollar payout.
In court documents obtained on Monday, attorneys for the hospital said the Kowalskis treated “the claims in this case as one big mass of allegations and damages," misleading the jury to award the family an incorrect amount of money.
The multiple claims in this case included false improvement, medical negligence, fraudulent billing, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death. Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital was found liable for all of them and ordered to pay the Kowalski family $212 million plus $50 million in punitive damages.
In the post-trial motions, attorneys for the hospital plan to seek a "renewed directed verdict and a new trial" for some of those damages, including Jack Kowalski's individual claim of insurance fraud and the punitive damages awarded to Maya.
The hospital's attorneys claimed that the wrongful death damages exceed $100,000,000 which is "patently excessive." They again argued that the jury was misled and, as a result, awarded Jack Kowalski 250% of the amount requested for this specific claim.
The Kowalski family's story began in October 2016. Maya's parents, Jack and Beata, drove from their home in Venice to the emergency room after their 10-year-old daughter was experiencing excruciating pain. They said the pain was from debilitating Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) which Maya was receiving doses of ketamine as part of her medical treatment as recommended by specialists.
Evidence in court showed that several doctors questioned the CRPS claims because Maya's symptoms and story didn't correlate. Instead, many of them deduced there was a psychological component to Maya's illness and that her relationship with her mother was manifesting physically, requiring psychiatric care and physical therapy.
Maya, now 17, was separated from her family for three months. It was during this time her mother took her own life, leaving behind notes — including ones for the judge and hospital staff — that expressed her despair and frustration.
The hospital, however, argues that it managed Maya's condition according to standard care and acted in her best interest while following orders from the state.
10 Tampa Bay's Adaure Achumba contributed to this report.