Greg Carr
2023-11-14 12:48:36 UTC
VENICE — Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital falsely imprisoned and
I have no problem with that.
Maya Kowalski and her family sued the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the Department of Children and Families for more than $200m when her mother took her own life after doctors at the hospital accused her of Munchausen-by-proxy.
The hospital was found liable on all counts on Thursday, including those of false imprisonment, battery and intentionally inflicting emotional distress on both Maya and her mother, Beata Kowalski.
But the legal case has now taken a new turn after the 17-year-old filed a criminal complaint with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office against the hospital on Friday, her attorney told the Daily Mail.
The complaint cites assault and battery at the hospital between 8 and 13 October in 2016.
Attorney Greg Anderson said that while she was in “imprisonment” at the hospital, a man who appeared to be a doctor came into her room and pulled down her pajamas and underwear and stared at and touched her private parts. (Greg: Just ***** great.)
“Maya suppressed this until about four weeks ago, [but] she did put in some notes to both the psychiatrist there at the time Dr. Katzenstein and later to Dr. Henschke, the two female psychiatrists that she saw along the way,” Mr Anderson said. (Greg: Can we see the notes.)
“These allegations originally arose during trial and were not admitted into the case. As soon as the hospital became aware of the allegations, and in accordance with their policies, they immediately initiated an internal investigation and contacted law enforcement last month. Federal privacy laws restrict Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital from sharing more, but the hospital takes allegations of this nature very seriously and always puts the safety of their patients above all else,” attorneys for the hospital said in a statement.
It comes after the Kowalski family were awarded damages of over $250m by the court, which found that the hospital wrongfully separated Maya from her mother — who later took her own life.
(Netflix)
During the two-month-long civil trial, the court heard how the family’s nightmare began after Maya, then nine years old, was brought to an emergency room at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in October 2016 to seek help for complex regional pain syndrome, a rare and debilitating disease.
Maya had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for a year to treat the symptoms, her family said.
Despite this, the teenager testified that hospital personnel dismissed her condition as largely imaginary.
She said when her mother Beata, a nurse, arrived at the hospital and insisted her daughter be given more ketamine, doctors became suspicious and contacted a child abuse hotline.
A state judge and Florida’s Department of Children and Families later sided with doctors who suspected Beata was suffering from Munchausen-by-proxy syndrome, a psychological disorder where parents fabricate their child’s illness. (Greg: I have seen docs on this they just put secret video surveillance in place.)
Maya was ordered to be held in the hospital by the judge and was prevented from seeing her mother. After 87 days, Beata took her own life at the age of 43.
During the trial, the Kowalskis’ lawyer Mr Anderson argued that Maya was “falsely imprisoned and battered, she was denied communication with her family,” according to Fox13.
The jury also found that Maya was wrongfully placed under video surveillance for 48 consecutive hours, as well as being made to strip down to shorts and a training bra for a photograph.
Meanwhile, the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital repeatedly denied the allegations and insisted that they meant no harm to Ms Kowalski.
(Greg: So they claimed they did not half strip her in court?)
<p>Beata Kowalski was just 43 when she took her own life in January 2017 after being separated from her daughter for months by the courts following false accusations of Munchausen by proxy</p>
Beata Kowalski was just 43 when she took her own life in January 2017 after being separated from her daughter for months by the courts following false accusations of Munchausen by proxy
(Netflix)
The hospital said they intended to pursue an appeal “based on clear and prejudicial errors throughout the trial and deliberate conduct by plaintiff’s counsel that misled the jury.”
“The evidence clearly showed that Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital followed Florida’s mandatory reporting law in reporting suspected child abuse and, when those suspicions were confirmed by the district court, fully complied with Department of Children and Families (DCF) and court orders,” defence counsel Howard Hunter said in a statement.
“We are determined to defend the vitally important obligation of mandatory reporters to report suspected child abuse and protect the smallest and most vulnerable among us.
“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.”
Maya clutched Beata’s rosary beads and cried uncontrollably as the jury’s decision was announced in court last week.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/maya-kowalski-verdict-lawsuit-sex-abuse-b2446769.html
The Harrowing True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Take Care Of Maya’
It's the heartbreaking story currently gripping the streaming platform. - by Kirsty Thatcher
13 NOV
2023
The Harrowing True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Take Care Of Maya’
If you’re a true crime fanatic, you’ve likely already devoured Netflix’s latest addition, Take Care Of Maya.
The harrowing tale chronicles 10-year-old Maya Kowalski, and her parents Beata and Jack, as they seek help for their daughter’s diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
But instead of treatment for Maya, the documentary shows doctors diagnosing Beata with Munchausen by proxy, accusing both parents of abusing their daughter, and signalling the start of a new nightmare for the Kowalski family. Maya’s parents were refused custody of their daughter, and the documentary goes on to show this ultimately lead to Beata’s suicide.
Now, the Kowalski family have finally achieved justice, with Take Care Of Maya landing on our screens in the midst of its real-life court case, which reached a verdict just last week.
Below, everything we know about the true story behind Take Care Of Maya.
ADVERTISING
take-care-of-maya
Image: Netflix
What Is Take Care Of Maya About?
In 2015, when Maya was just 9 years old, she began experiencing a series of unexplained symptoms, including asthma attacks, headaches, lesions on her limbs, and foot cramping.
While several doctors struggled to find the cause of Maya’s pain, according to People, her mother learned of complex regional pain syndrome, a disease consistent with Maya’s symptoms. The Kowalski family then turned to Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who specialises in CRPS, and began treating Maya with infusions of the anaesthetic drug ketamine. When Maya’s symptoms persisted, she was put on a five-day “ketamine coma” in which, per People, “the nervous system [is] flooded with a high dose of the drug,” causing it to “reset.”
Reflecting on the treatment in 2023, Maya, now 17, told the publication that she “felt amazing,” following the ketamine coma.
In October 2016, Maya was rushed to hospital by her father after she woke in the middle of the night complaining of severe abdominal pain. Take Care Of Maya follows her stay in hospital from this time until January 13, 2017.
maya-kowalski
Maya, her parents, and Dr Kirkpatrick.
Image: Netflix
In the documentary, Beata asked doctors to administer a high dose of ketamine for her daughter’s symptoms. This request raised alarms amongst hospital staff. Following this, according to The Cut, the family were met by a social worker named Debra Hansen, who “agreed that it was strange for Beata to demand pain medication before allowing [routine testing].” Hansen filed a formal notice of potential neglect with the state.
Authorities reportedly discarded the report for a lack of evidence, but the hospital remained on alert about Maya’s case.
According to The Cut, this lead to Dr Sally Smith, a doctor with more than 30 years of experience in child-abuse paediatrics, investigating Maya’s medical records. On October 13, 2016, Smith filed a report chronicling Maya’s extensive medical history, and formally diagnosing her mother with Munchausen syndrome by proxy. As a result, Maya was placed in state custody, with an order directing that she be kept in the hospital, and her parents were forbidden to see her.
Despite being separated from her parents, Maya continued to report extreme pain, but, per The Cut, Smith was still not convinced of her diagnosis. According to the publication, she instructed Maya’s nurses to videotape her, to try and catch instances where her behaviour misaligned with her symptoms. In December, it was reported that Maya’s diagnosis was changed to factitious disorder – in other words, Maya was accused of making up her illness.
take-care-of-maya
Image: Netflix
In January 2017, after spending Christmas, New Years and her 11th birthday in hospital (more than 87 days), Maya, Jack, and Beata attended a court hearing to determine her custody status. But their requests to be reunited were denied.
The following day, Beata died by suicide. In a note discovered after her death, she wrote, “I’m sorry, but I no longer can take the pain [of] being away from Maya and being treated like a criminal. I cannot watch my daughter suffer in pain and keep getting worse.”
At the family’s next court hearing, the judge ruled that Jack could take Maya to be assessed by a doctor who specialised in CRPS. This doctor found that Maya’s symptoms and response to treatments were consistent with CRPS, and that the diagnoses of Munchausen by proxy and factitious disorder were “incorrect,” Haworth remanded Maya back to Jack’s custody. As a result, Maya was returned to Jack’s custody.
maya-kowalski
Image: Getty
What Happened To Maya Kowalski?
According to The Cut, when she was discharged from hospital, Maya “weighed less than she did when she was admitted”, and was too weak to sit up properly on her own. But after a year and a half of physical therapy and aqua therapy, she was able to walk unassisted for the first time in four years.
Six years after Beata Kowalski’s death, a jury ordered Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (where Maya was treated) to pay $211 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages to the Kowalski family.
Maya took to the stands throughout the lengthy trial. In her testimony, she recalled only being given an hour with her father after learning of her mother's suicide. “If I’m being completely honest, iot was actually so unbelievably cruel, the amount of time they allocated for me to spend with my family after hearing such awful news," she said.
Outside the courtroom, Maya told reporters, “For the first time, I feel like I got justice.”
====
Yes John Hopkins is guilty.
battered a 10-year-old Venice girl and contributed to her mother’s
suicide, according to a jury that awarded damages of more than $211
million to her family.
In a major legal defeat for the St. Petersburg hospital, the jury on
Thursday found that the hospital engaged in “extreme and outrageous”
conduct in its treatment of Maya Kowalski and her family after an
October 2016 emergency room visit. The girl’s mother, Beata Kowalski,
took her own life after Maya was removed by the state and sheltered at
All Children’s for three months.
The jury of four women and two men sided with the Kowalskis on every
question they were asked to adjudicate. All Children’s conduct
contributed to Beata’s Kowalski’s death, they said, and the hospital
falsely imprisoned Maya when it blocked the family from leaving the
hospital with their child.
Damages were awarded for the hospital’s decision to place the then
10-year-old girl in a room equipped with video surveillance for 48 hours
and to strip her down to her shorts and training bra and photograph her
without permission from her parents or a court.
There was also an award for the conduct of a hospital social worker who
conducted the photography of the girl and who sometimes kissed and
hugged the girl and sat her on her lap.
Was the social worker a lesbian? Even if not kissing a ten yr old in bra and panties is totally inappropriate so is sitting in her lap. Were the photos passed to others?suicide, according to a jury that awarded damages of more than $211
million to her family.
In a major legal defeat for the St. Petersburg hospital, the jury on
Thursday found that the hospital engaged in “extreme and outrageous”
conduct in its treatment of Maya Kowalski and her family after an
October 2016 emergency room visit. The girl’s mother, Beata Kowalski,
took her own life after Maya was removed by the state and sheltered at
All Children’s for three months.
The jury of four women and two men sided with the Kowalskis on every
question they were asked to adjudicate. All Children’s conduct
contributed to Beata’s Kowalski’s death, they said, and the hospital
falsely imprisoned Maya when it blocked the family from leaving the
hospital with their child.
Damages were awarded for the hospital’s decision to place the then
10-year-old girl in a room equipped with video surveillance for 48 hours
and to strip her down to her shorts and training bra and photograph her
without permission from her parents or a court.
There was also an award for the conduct of a hospital social worker who
conducted the photography of the girl and who sometimes kissed and
hugged the girl and sat her on her lap.
The verdict in a sometimes fractious eight-week civil trial in Sarasota
County came on the third day of jury deliberation. As it was read to the
court, the family, who had fought for five years to get the case in
front of a jury, sobbed and held each other. Maya clung onto her
mother’s rosary beads.
Glad they got their day in court.County came on the third day of jury deliberation. As it was read to the
court, the family, who had fought for five years to get the case in
front of a jury, sobbed and held each other. Maya clung onto her
mother’s rosary beads.
In addition to the financial blow to All Children’s, the case has
generated worldwide headlines after it was turned into a documentary
called “Take Care of Maya.” Released on Netflix, it was viewed almost 14
million times in the first two weeks after its June release.
First I have heard of this.generated worldwide headlines after it was turned into a documentary
called “Take Care of Maya.” Released on Netflix, it was viewed almost 14
million times in the first two weeks after its June release.
I have no problem with that.
Attorneys for the Kowalskis centered their case on the hospital’s
failure to treat Maya for the pain syndrome, a rare neurological
condition that can cause spontaneous and often excessive pain from
something as mild as a touch.
So the social worker was torturing the 10 yr old how sadistic and evil. Why is the name of the social worker not published?failure to treat Maya for the pain syndrome, a rare neurological
condition that can cause spontaneous and often excessive pain from
something as mild as a touch.
Pradeep Chopra, a pain management and anesthesiology doctor from Rhode
Island who provided the dependency court with an evaluation of Maya’s
medical condition, testified that the girl had the rare pain syndrome
often nicknamed the suicide condition because the pain can be so
debilitating.
In doing that, he said, All Children’s doctors deviated from the
accepted standard of care for the pain condition and caused Maya’s
health to worsen. She had previously been treated with infusions of
ketamine, an anesthetic drug.
Timothy Brewerton, an adult and pediatric forensic psychiatrist,
testified that Maya; her brother, Kyle Kowalski; and her father, Jack
Kowalski, all suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, major
depressive disorder and complicated traumatic bereavement from the
trauma they endured.
Maya, now 17, cried as she testified about her separation from her
mother and how she was told she would not be able to attend a court
hearing where her mother would be present if she did not agree to being
photographed.
Why would she need need to be photographed half naked just to go to a court appearance?Island who provided the dependency court with an evaluation of Maya’s
medical condition, testified that the girl had the rare pain syndrome
often nicknamed the suicide condition because the pain can be so
debilitating.
In doing that, he said, All Children’s doctors deviated from the
accepted standard of care for the pain condition and caused Maya’s
health to worsen. She had previously been treated with infusions of
ketamine, an anesthetic drug.
Timothy Brewerton, an adult and pediatric forensic psychiatrist,
testified that Maya; her brother, Kyle Kowalski; and her father, Jack
Kowalski, all suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, major
depressive disorder and complicated traumatic bereavement from the
trauma they endured.
Maya, now 17, cried as she testified about her separation from her
mother and how she was told she would not be able to attend a court
hearing where her mother would be present if she did not agree to being
photographed.
Joseph Corcoran, a retired hospital administrator who reviewed reports
on All Children’s as a witness for the family, told jurors that All
Children’s employees had reported a culture of retaliation against those
who spoke up and that the hospital’s organization prevented effective
oversight by its governing board.
“It was a totally dysfunctional organization and the Kowalskis paid the
price,” Anderson said Tuesday during closing statements.
Good on you Mr. Corcoran will those employees go public?on All Children’s as a witness for the family, told jurors that All
Children’s employees had reported a culture of retaliation against those
who spoke up and that the hospital’s organization prevented effective
oversight by its governing board.
“It was a totally dysfunctional organization and the Kowalskis paid the
price,” Anderson said Tuesday during closing statements.
All Children’s attorney Ethen Shapiro said the hospital’s treatment of
Maya was safe and evidence based. The hospital decided against settling
the case out of court because it would have a chilling effect on those
in the medical field and others who are required by law to report
suspected child abuse.
The hospital’s defense included testimony and medical documents showing
that doctors from other hospitals who had treated Maya were also
skeptical of the pain syndrome diagnosis. Their notes included
references to her condition including a psychological component or
conversion disorder, where a patient experiences pain or other symptoms
even though there is no underlying cause.
Yes that does happen. If that was true and she was mentally ill how does separating her from her Mom for 3 months and keeping her locked up and photographing her half naked supposed to help?Maya was safe and evidence based. The hospital decided against settling
the case out of court because it would have a chilling effect on those
in the medical field and others who are required by law to report
suspected child abuse.
The hospital’s defense included testimony and medical documents showing
that doctors from other hospitals who had treated Maya were also
skeptical of the pain syndrome diagnosis. Their notes included
references to her condition including a psychological component or
conversion disorder, where a patient experiences pain or other symptoms
even though there is no underlying cause.
The defense also showed the jury emails written by Beata Kowalski that
they said showed that ketamine treatments were causing memory loss and
hallucinations.
Yes K or special k or ketamine can do that that is why street druggies take the drug.they said showed that ketamine treatments were causing memory loss and
hallucinations.
One referred to when the family went to Mexico for a
ketamine coma, a procedure where a patient is given a dose high enough
to induce a coma that lasts several days. The procedure is not approved
by the FDA.
Hmmm that is weird real weird is it as weird as a female kissing a 10 yr old girl who can't leave and is half naked and photographing her yes but the difference is the social worker was a govt employee and it happened in a hospital.ketamine coma, a procedure where a patient is given a dose high enough
to induce a coma that lasts several days. The procedure is not approved
by the FDA.
Shapiro said Maya’s medical records confirmed what other doctors had
testified: her medical history was one of “unnecessary medication given
at dangerous levels.”
Hospital doctors were right to report suspected child abuse and to
question the treatment her parents were demanding when they arrived at
the hospital, he said.
Fine. What about what the hospital did to her?testified: her medical history was one of “unnecessary medication given
at dangerous levels.”
Hospital doctors were right to report suspected child abuse and to
question the treatment her parents were demanding when they arrived at
the hospital, he said.
“The coward’s way out is to let them leave,” Shapiro said. “People who
care about children do not let that child walk out the door without
talking to the family.”
Who payed for her stay in the hospital was it charity work by John Hopkins? The Mom is a catholic did the local rcc have anything to say about this.care about children do not let that child walk out the door without
talking to the family.”
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2023/11/09/all-childrens-st-petersbu
rg-maya-netflix-damages/
The 17-year-old girl at the centre of the Netflix documentaryTake Care of Maya has accused the hospital that wrongfully kept her from her family of sex abuse just days after she won millions of dollars of damages in a lawsuit.rg-maya-netflix-damages/
Maya Kowalski and her family sued the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the Department of Children and Families for more than $200m when her mother took her own life after doctors at the hospital accused her of Munchausen-by-proxy.
The hospital was found liable on all counts on Thursday, including those of false imprisonment, battery and intentionally inflicting emotional distress on both Maya and her mother, Beata Kowalski.
But the legal case has now taken a new turn after the 17-year-old filed a criminal complaint with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office against the hospital on Friday, her attorney told the Daily Mail.
The complaint cites assault and battery at the hospital between 8 and 13 October in 2016.
Attorney Greg Anderson said that while she was in “imprisonment” at the hospital, a man who appeared to be a doctor came into her room and pulled down her pajamas and underwear and stared at and touched her private parts. (Greg: Just ***** great.)
“Maya suppressed this until about four weeks ago, [but] she did put in some notes to both the psychiatrist there at the time Dr. Katzenstein and later to Dr. Henschke, the two female psychiatrists that she saw along the way,” Mr Anderson said. (Greg: Can we see the notes.)
“These allegations originally arose during trial and were not admitted into the case. As soon as the hospital became aware of the allegations, and in accordance with their policies, they immediately initiated an internal investigation and contacted law enforcement last month. Federal privacy laws restrict Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital from sharing more, but the hospital takes allegations of this nature very seriously and always puts the safety of their patients above all else,” attorneys for the hospital said in a statement.
It comes after the Kowalski family were awarded damages of over $250m by the court, which found that the hospital wrongfully separated Maya from her mother — who later took her own life.
(Netflix)
During the two-month-long civil trial, the court heard how the family’s nightmare began after Maya, then nine years old, was brought to an emergency room at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in October 2016 to seek help for complex regional pain syndrome, a rare and debilitating disease.
Maya had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for a year to treat the symptoms, her family said.
Despite this, the teenager testified that hospital personnel dismissed her condition as largely imaginary.
She said when her mother Beata, a nurse, arrived at the hospital and insisted her daughter be given more ketamine, doctors became suspicious and contacted a child abuse hotline.
A state judge and Florida’s Department of Children and Families later sided with doctors who suspected Beata was suffering from Munchausen-by-proxy syndrome, a psychological disorder where parents fabricate their child’s illness. (Greg: I have seen docs on this they just put secret video surveillance in place.)
Maya was ordered to be held in the hospital by the judge and was prevented from seeing her mother. After 87 days, Beata took her own life at the age of 43.
During the trial, the Kowalskis’ lawyer Mr Anderson argued that Maya was “falsely imprisoned and battered, she was denied communication with her family,” according to Fox13.
The jury also found that Maya was wrongfully placed under video surveillance for 48 consecutive hours, as well as being made to strip down to shorts and a training bra for a photograph.
Meanwhile, the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital repeatedly denied the allegations and insisted that they meant no harm to Ms Kowalski.
(Greg: So they claimed they did not half strip her in court?)
<p>Beata Kowalski was just 43 when she took her own life in January 2017 after being separated from her daughter for months by the courts following false accusations of Munchausen by proxy</p>
Beata Kowalski was just 43 when she took her own life in January 2017 after being separated from her daughter for months by the courts following false accusations of Munchausen by proxy
(Netflix)
The hospital said they intended to pursue an appeal “based on clear and prejudicial errors throughout the trial and deliberate conduct by plaintiff’s counsel that misled the jury.”
“The evidence clearly showed that Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital followed Florida’s mandatory reporting law in reporting suspected child abuse and, when those suspicions were confirmed by the district court, fully complied with Department of Children and Families (DCF) and court orders,” defence counsel Howard Hunter said in a statement.
“We are determined to defend the vitally important obligation of mandatory reporters to report suspected child abuse and protect the smallest and most vulnerable among us.
“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.”
Maya clutched Beata’s rosary beads and cried uncontrollably as the jury’s decision was announced in court last week.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/maya-kowalski-verdict-lawsuit-sex-abuse-b2446769.html
The Harrowing True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Take Care Of Maya’
It's the heartbreaking story currently gripping the streaming platform. - by Kirsty Thatcher
13 NOV
2023
The Harrowing True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Take Care Of Maya’
If you’re a true crime fanatic, you’ve likely already devoured Netflix’s latest addition, Take Care Of Maya.
The harrowing tale chronicles 10-year-old Maya Kowalski, and her parents Beata and Jack, as they seek help for their daughter’s diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
But instead of treatment for Maya, the documentary shows doctors diagnosing Beata with Munchausen by proxy, accusing both parents of abusing their daughter, and signalling the start of a new nightmare for the Kowalski family. Maya’s parents were refused custody of their daughter, and the documentary goes on to show this ultimately lead to Beata’s suicide.
Now, the Kowalski family have finally achieved justice, with Take Care Of Maya landing on our screens in the midst of its real-life court case, which reached a verdict just last week.
Below, everything we know about the true story behind Take Care Of Maya.
ADVERTISING
take-care-of-maya
Image: Netflix
What Is Take Care Of Maya About?
In 2015, when Maya was just 9 years old, she began experiencing a series of unexplained symptoms, including asthma attacks, headaches, lesions on her limbs, and foot cramping.
While several doctors struggled to find the cause of Maya’s pain, according to People, her mother learned of complex regional pain syndrome, a disease consistent with Maya’s symptoms. The Kowalski family then turned to Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who specialises in CRPS, and began treating Maya with infusions of the anaesthetic drug ketamine. When Maya’s symptoms persisted, she was put on a five-day “ketamine coma” in which, per People, “the nervous system [is] flooded with a high dose of the drug,” causing it to “reset.”
Reflecting on the treatment in 2023, Maya, now 17, told the publication that she “felt amazing,” following the ketamine coma.
In October 2016, Maya was rushed to hospital by her father after she woke in the middle of the night complaining of severe abdominal pain. Take Care Of Maya follows her stay in hospital from this time until January 13, 2017.
maya-kowalski
Maya, her parents, and Dr Kirkpatrick.
Image: Netflix
In the documentary, Beata asked doctors to administer a high dose of ketamine for her daughter’s symptoms. This request raised alarms amongst hospital staff. Following this, according to The Cut, the family were met by a social worker named Debra Hansen, who “agreed that it was strange for Beata to demand pain medication before allowing [routine testing].” Hansen filed a formal notice of potential neglect with the state.
Authorities reportedly discarded the report for a lack of evidence, but the hospital remained on alert about Maya’s case.
According to The Cut, this lead to Dr Sally Smith, a doctor with more than 30 years of experience in child-abuse paediatrics, investigating Maya’s medical records. On October 13, 2016, Smith filed a report chronicling Maya’s extensive medical history, and formally diagnosing her mother with Munchausen syndrome by proxy. As a result, Maya was placed in state custody, with an order directing that she be kept in the hospital, and her parents were forbidden to see her.
Despite being separated from her parents, Maya continued to report extreme pain, but, per The Cut, Smith was still not convinced of her diagnosis. According to the publication, she instructed Maya’s nurses to videotape her, to try and catch instances where her behaviour misaligned with her symptoms. In December, it was reported that Maya’s diagnosis was changed to factitious disorder – in other words, Maya was accused of making up her illness.
take-care-of-maya
Image: Netflix
In January 2017, after spending Christmas, New Years and her 11th birthday in hospital (more than 87 days), Maya, Jack, and Beata attended a court hearing to determine her custody status. But their requests to be reunited were denied.
The following day, Beata died by suicide. In a note discovered after her death, she wrote, “I’m sorry, but I no longer can take the pain [of] being away from Maya and being treated like a criminal. I cannot watch my daughter suffer in pain and keep getting worse.”
At the family’s next court hearing, the judge ruled that Jack could take Maya to be assessed by a doctor who specialised in CRPS. This doctor found that Maya’s symptoms and response to treatments were consistent with CRPS, and that the diagnoses of Munchausen by proxy and factitious disorder were “incorrect,” Haworth remanded Maya back to Jack’s custody. As a result, Maya was returned to Jack’s custody.
maya-kowalski
Image: Getty
What Happened To Maya Kowalski?
According to The Cut, when she was discharged from hospital, Maya “weighed less than she did when she was admitted”, and was too weak to sit up properly on her own. But after a year and a half of physical therapy and aqua therapy, she was able to walk unassisted for the first time in four years.
Six years after Beata Kowalski’s death, a jury ordered Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (where Maya was treated) to pay $211 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages to the Kowalski family.
Maya took to the stands throughout the lengthy trial. In her testimony, she recalled only being given an hour with her father after learning of her mother's suicide. “If I’m being completely honest, iot was actually so unbelievably cruel, the amount of time they allocated for me to spend with my family after hearing such awful news," she said.
Outside the courtroom, Maya told reporters, “For the first time, I feel like I got justice.”
====
Yes John Hopkins is guilty.