Breaking: Florida Appeals Court Reverses $200M Jury Verdict in Maya Kowalski Case

A Florida appeals court today struck down the $200 million verdict against John’s Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in the Maya Kowalski negligence lawsuit, a case that had gained worldwide attention and was the subject of a Netflix documentary.

“The trial court’s erroneous interpretation and application of section 39.203(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2016), and the immunity afforded thereunder, as well as the trial court’s erroneous denial of JHACH’s motions for directed verdicts and JHACH’s motion for a new trial require reversal of the final judgment,” Florida’s 2^nd District Court of Appeals wrote in the Oct. 29 opinion.

A Sarasota County in 2023 jury found in favor of the Kowalski family and ordered the hospital to pay $211 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages after Maya’s mom died by suicide in 2017. The trial judge later reduced the total amount of damages to $213 million.

The trial and verdict raised difficult questions about health care providers’ role when child abuse is suspected – and about a hospital’s liability and medical malpractice coverage in situations involving chronic pain and parents’ rights.

Maya, age 10 at the time, was brought to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg in 2016 with what was described as extreme pain and complex regional pain syndrome. Her mom, Beata Kowalski, a registered nurse, urged doctors to provide doses of ketamine, an anesthetic shown to cause hallucinations in some cases, according to news reports and court documents.

But the 2^nd District appellate judges said the trial court made multiple errors in the trial, including allowing a too-narrow interpretation of Florida’s immunity statutes for those who report suspected abuse.

“The final judgment in favor of the Kowalskis is reversed,” the court wrote. “On remand, only the IIED (intentional infliction of emotional distress) claim brought on behalf of Maya and the remaining false imprisonment, battery, and medical negligence claims may be retried.”

The trial court should have overridden the jury and provided a directed verdict, the appeals court said. The father, Jack Kowalski, presented no evidence of injury from alleged fraudulent billing, as claimed, the judges noted.

An attorney for the hospital called the reversal “resounding,” and criticized the Netflix show.

“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,” Ethen Shapiro, of the Hill Ward Henderson law firm, said in a statement Wednesday.

He added: “The facts and the law have always prioritized protecting children, the most vulnerable among us. We look forward to vigorously defending our doctors, nurses, and staff in a fair trial on the few remaining claims after rigorous and proper application of immunity. We thank the judges for their time and attention to this matter, and we appreciate that they understood what many did not: that a one-sided movie is no substitute for a fair judicial process.”

The opinion can be seen here.

Photo: The entrance to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. (AP Photo/Tamara Lush)

Topics Florida