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THE real-life family behind the hit Netflix series “Taking Care of Maya” has won a lawsuit worth millions against the hospital that wrongfully accused them of abusing their daughter.
The $261 million payout by Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Florida comes after Maya’s mother, Beata Kowalski, died by suicide after being separated from her daughter for months and accused of committing child abuse.
A six-person jury deliberated two days before finding the hospital in St. Petersburg responsible on Thursday, according to the Huffington Post.
The medical center was found liable for all seven claims brought by the Kowalski family, which included battery, false imprisonment, negligence, initial infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress causing death.
The jury initially awarded the family $211 million in compensatory damages, but soon added an additional $50 million in punitive damages for specifically intending to and ultimately harming Maya.
Maya’s story has been chronicled in the popular Netflix series “Taking Care of Maya” which has been watched over 14 million times.
Young Maya was healthy until she reached the age of 9 when a series of confusing and painful ailments began to make her sick.
She was eventually diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and required constant medical care along with the use of a wheelchair for mobility.
After seeing several doctors who were unable to diagnose the cause of her medical problems or relieve many of its symptoms, Maya’s parents took her to Mexico to undergo a controversial ketamine treatment.
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The ketamine appeared to have a much more beneficial effect on Maya than the other treatments, her parents said, so they continued the regimen when they returned to the U.S.
But when Maya fell ill and needed to go to the emergency room near their Venice home, doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital soon discovered that the young Maya was receiving what they saw as a dangerously high dose of an illicit drug.
The medical staff began asking more questions about Maya’s condition and ultimately came to the conclusion that her mother, a nurse, seemed to be suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy — a rare mental illness that leads to a person falsely claiming or even intentionally making another person sick.
Hospital staff contacted child protective services and her mother, Beata, was investigated for abuse.
Maya was forcibly hospitalized for several weeks in 2016 and 2017 and kept isolated from her family, particularly her mother, as a result.
Soon after, Beata died by suicide.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital plans to appeal the verdict citing “clear and prejudicial errors” in the trial, according to a statement by defense attorney Howard Hunter to Huff Post.
“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,” Hunter said.
“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.”
But the court agreed with the Kowalskis, who argued that they were the people actually injured and silenced by hospital staff.
Maya, now 17, and her family were openly emotional when the court read the verdict.