VENICE, Fla. — A six-person jury went into recess Wednesday evening without a verdict in the case at the center of the Netflix documentary "Take Care of Maya."
In 2018, the Kowalski family of Venice sued Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital over allegations of malpractice, false imprisonment, and the wrongful death of mom Beata.
Hospital staff accused Beata Kowalski of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, medical child abuse and doctor shopping. They said she was causing her then 10-year-old daughter Maya's illness to worsen by giving her excessive doses of pain medication and sedatives like ketamine.
According to the Kowalski family, their doctors diagnosed Maya with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome but evidence in court showed several doctors and experts questioned those claims because Maya's symptoms and story did not 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.
Once a medical child abuse investigation was opened, Maya was sheltered at the hospital for 87 days starting on Oct. 7, 2016, and was not allowed any contact with her mother, who died on Jan. 8, 2017. However, the hospital maintains they acted in the best interest of Maya and saved her life.
The trial, which began nine weeks ago, took jurors through more than 50 witness testimonies and depositions as well as thousands of pieces of evidence. The family is asking jurors to award them $220 million in punitive damages.
After an 80-page jury instruction from Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll, jurors first went into seclusion Tuesday to decide whether Johns Hopkins should compensate the Kowalskis or not.
The jury, which is made up of four women and two men, continued their deliberations Wednesday on the several claims they have to consider, including various mathematical calculations if they decide to lean in favor of the family.
At stake are seven specific claims including medical negligence, fraudulent billing, and a two-count claim for false imprisonment and battery.
The lawsuit also includes a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress by survivors of the estate of Beata Kowalski for causing her death.
"Having done those calculations at a $100 an hour this is the figure we suggest to you for Jack's wrongful death damages: $26 million," Nick Whitney, an attorney for the Kowalski family, said.
Also listed in the claim is a breakdown for $36 million for son Kyle and about $55 million for Maya Kowalski, including for future economic loss from projected long-term trauma and medical care.
"One of the most unfortunate parts of this case is the caption, Kowalskis vs All Children. We were never against the Kowalski family," Ethen Shapiro, an attorney for All Children's Hospital, said.
In Tuesday's closing arguments, lawyers reiterated why the verdict should be in their client's favor.
"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 client's hospital believed in a better future for her if they could get her off the unnecessary drugs given at dangerous levels," Shapiro said.
"We submit to you that if any of these three had the opportunity to pay $100 for an hour with their mom, their wife, to have her back, they would even pay $1,000 an hour. We don't think $100 is appropriate. We ask you to deliver justice for the Kowalskis," Whitney said, fighting back emotions.
The court will be back in session at 8 a.m. Thursday with the jury expected to resume their deliberations at 8:10 a.m.