Posted at 1:29 PM, October 29, 2025
and last updated 1:49 PM, October 29, 2025
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Court TV) — A Florida appeals court has struck down a $213.5 million judgment awarded to a family who claimed a hospital held a child captive and led to her mother’s suicide.
Maya Kowalski and her family won their lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH), with a jury awarding them more than $250 million, which was later reduced to $213.5 million. The Kowalski family was the subject of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya,” which chronicled Maya’s battle with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a neuropathic disease that causes extreme pain.
Maya Kowalski listens as the verdict is read in court for her family’s civil trial on Nov. 9, 2023. (Court TV)
Maya’s previous treatments of high-dose ketamine and complaints of frequent pain prompted hospital officials to report suspected abuse. That report escalated to the point that her mother, Beata Kowalski, was not allowed to visit or speak with her daughter. Beata died by suicide while Maya was in the hospital.
While the trial jury sided with the Kowalskis, who said that JHACH was liable for false imprisonment, battery, fraudulent billing, wrongful death and causing emotional distress, an appeals court said they were wrong. In a decision filed on Wednesday, the Second District Court of Appeal said that the trial judge should have dismissed the claims of false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as others.
MORE | Dr. Sally Smith doubles down on Maya Kowalski’s child abuse diagnosis
The appeals court conceded that the emotional distress may have led to Beata’s suicide, but said the trial court should have dismissed the wrongful death claims and others because JHACH was protected by state law. Florida law section 39 details child abuse reporting guidelines under which the hospital was required to report any suspected abuse.
Once that report was made to the Department of Children and Families, the hospital became an agent of that department for the purposes of detaining Maya and keeping her away from her mother. “Beyond the initial detention and reporting to the department, the legislature has placed no burden on the person detaining the child; instead, it has placed the burden on the department.” Under that logic, the appeals court said that most of the claims levied by the Kowalski family are moot.
The ruling strikes down the full judgment and reverses the jury’s findings. Because of its ruling, the appeals court said there can be a new trial only on the remaining issues for which the hospital is not immune: claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress for Maya, as well as battery and medical negligence.
In a statement to Court TV, Ethen Shapiro, who represents JHACH, said, “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. The facts and the law have always prioritized protecting children, the most vulnerable among us.”
