EXCLUSIVE: Family of girl, 17, whose mom committed suicide when doctors falsely accused her of Munchausen by proxy SUES Florida Children’s hospital for $220M in damages: Attorneys say they’ll need ‘medical care and therapy for the rest of their lives’
- Maya Kowalski claimed she was ‘held captive’ by the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in 2016 after her mother was accused of Munchausen by proxy
- Beata killed herself after she was diagnosed with a depressive mood and adjustment disorder upon being separated from her then 10-year-old daughter
- The Kowalskis detailed the experience in a damning new Netflix documentary
Attorneys representing the family of a teen who was ‘held captive’ in a Florida hospital when she was 10 years old said the ‘horrific’ incident amounts to ‘abduction, incarceration and abuse’ of the girl.
Maya Kowalski, now 17, was placed into state custody for three months after doctors accused her parents of faking symptoms of her debilitating complex regional pain syndrome (CPRS).
Hospital staff wrongly accused Maya’s mother Beata of Munchausen by proxy (MSP) – a mental illness and a form of child abuse in which the caretaker of a child, most often a mother, either makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like the child is sick.
After being separated from her daughter for more than 87 days and a court order which denied her access to her child, Beata took her own life – a tragedy that continues to haunt the Kowalskis. The family detailed the harrowing experience in a damning new Netflix documentary that was released June 19.
AndersonGlenn LLP has launched a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and a trial date has been set for September with the Kowalski family seeking $55 million in compensatory and $165 million in punitive damages.
Attorneys representing the family of a teen who was ‘held captive’ in a Florida hospital when she was 10 said the ‘horrific’ incident amounts to ‘abduction, incarceration and abuse’ of the girl
Gregory Anderson, who founded the firm in 1990 and focuses on corporate and commercial litigation, admiralty and personal injury law said the incidents of late 2016/early 2017 have had an ‘irreparable’ affect on Maya, her father Jack and her brother Kyle.
‘The horrific events from the October 7, 2016 admission through Maya’s release on January 14, 2017 have been well-documented,’ Anderson told DailyMail.com exclusively.
‘These events amount to an abduction, incarceration and abuse of a 10 year old girl. Her parents were irreparably defamed and damaged.
‘Beata took her own life to free her daughter from ‘care’ by Johns Hopkins. The resulting litigation has been the worst I’ve seen.’
He said the incident took place in the fall of 2016. Maya was released and the Kowalskis exonerated Jan 14 2017 – after Beata took her own life.
Gregory Anderson, who founded the firm in 1990 and focuses on corporate and commercial litigation, admiralty and personal injury law
‘We were retained in the fall of 2017 and sent our first demand letters for information in December. We filed suit in 2018 – that was five years ago, five years of brutal litigation,’ he said.
‘The Kowalskis have incurred millions in legal fees and costs. Maya, Jack and Kyle will need medical care and therapy for the rest of their lives.’
The ordeal started when Maya was nine, and she began suffering from excruciating headaches, asthma attacks and painful lesions that formed on her arms and legs, as well as cramping and curling sensations in her feet.
When doctors at a local hospital were baffled with her medical condition Maya’s parents started doing research on their own.
Maya’s mom, a registered nurse, discovered that her daughter may have the condition CPRS and after visiting a specialist, this was confirmed.
Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, an anesthesiologist and pharmacologist in Tampa who specializes in CRPS, gave Maya the anesthetic drug ketamine through infusions.
He then recommended a more aggressive treatment, described as a ‘ketamine coma’ – where the patient receives five days of treatment to essentially ‘reset’ the nervous system.
The procedure, still experimental, had not yet been approved by the FDA so Maya and her family traveled to Mexico in 2015 – despite knowing the risks involved.
The teenager said she felt ‘amazing’ after the procedure and continued to receive ketamine infusions to manage flare ups as the specialist said there was no cure for the disorder.
Less than a year after the experimental treatment, Maya was rushed to the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida with excruciating stomach pain.
Maya’s parents told the medical team treating her that she had CRPS and needed high doses of ketamine – which they believed was the only way to help alleviate their daughter’s crippling pain.
Maya Kowalski, now 17, was placed into state custody for three months after doctors accused her parents of faking symptoms of her debilitating complex regional pain syndrome (CPRS)
After the CPRS was confirmed Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, an anesthesiologist and pharmacologist in Tampa who specializes in CRPS, gave Maya the anesthetic drug ketamine through infusions
Hospital staff reportedly alerted protective services who later accused Beata of child abuse due to MSP.
‘One of the most startling injuries which will come out at trial is the exacerbation of Maya’s CRPS as a result of Johns Hopkin’s malpractice in misdiagnosing CRPS as Munchausen by proxy,’ Anderson said.
‘Maya was fortunate to finally locate experts who put her in the care she needed, specifically Ketamine therapy and more gentle forms of physical therapy involving warm water exercises.
‘CRPS caught early and treated using the most advanced therapies need not be a death sentence or destroy someone’s life.’
Anderson said that when Maya relapsed she could have ‘very successfully’ recovered but Johns Hopkins ‘removed all proven therapies and treated her as a psychiatric patient.’
‘As a consequence, her CRPS is now a threat to her life and will manifest over her ’30’s-early ’50’s with more frequent, longer duration and more severe and painful events,’ he said.
Child Services’ Dr Sally Smith, who has since retired, was regarded as some what of a ‘doyenne in her field’ and was formally asked to investigate Maya’s case after Beata was deemed to have ‘mental issues.’
At the time, its been claimed that Smith was removing children from their homes at one of the highest rates of Florida’s counties, according to the documentary.
Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who first diagnosed Maya with CRPS, confirmed her diagnosis to Smith in her initial investigation.
He also formally warned that a child abuse case would cause ‘needless and permanent harm to the child and family,’ according to The Cut.
AndersonGlenn LLP has launched a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and a trial date has been set for September with the Kowalski family seeking $55 million in compensatory and $165 million in punitive damages
Child Services’ Dr Sally Smith, who has since retired, was regarded as some what of a ‘doyenne in her field’ and was formally asked to investigate Maya’s case after Beata was deemed to have ‘mental issues’
However, Smith filed the case without including Kirkpatrick’s warnings.
After Maya’s symptoms did not improve her Munchausen’s by proxy diagnosis was withdrawn. Smith and other doctors began to believe she was entirely fabricating her symptoms.
Beata was also formally evaluated and diagnosed with a depressive mood and adjustment disorder upon being separated from her daughter.
Smith retired in July this year telling the outlet that she’s not a ‘horrible person whose goal in life is to disrupt families.’
‘I have spent my adult life attempting to serve children in my community to ameliorate conditions of abuse and neglect,’ she said.
‘I wish our society did more to help struggling families to provide safe, nurturing homes to their children.
‘I’m not a big proponent of punitive approaches for such families contrary to media portrayals about me.’
In December 2021 Smith and the Suncoast Center settled their portion of the lawsuit with the Kowalski family.
‘We have children that come to see us that have less serious injuries, where a recommendation is made for a child to be removed for their safety,’ she told the Cut.
‘The next day, the judge declines that request, just because they determine they’re not going to proceed with criminal charges doesn’t mean that there wasn’t child abuse or that I quote-unquote made a mistake.’
Smith added that she ‘saw dozens of children who were literally beaten to death.’
‘I saw hundreds of babies and children who were killed or maimed by Abusive Head Trauma.
Beata was also formally evaluated and diagnosed with a depressive mood and adjustment disorder upon being separated from her daughter
Anderson said that the incident took place in the fall of 2016, Maya was released and the Kowalskis exonerated Jan 14 2017 – after Beata took her own life
‘I saw hundreds more babies and children who had multiple broken bones from abuse including young infants with more than 20 fractures in different stages of healing.
‘I saw numerous children with ruptured intestines and internal organs from abusive abdominal trauma, some of whom died.’
She admitted to the outlet that these factors as well as biased news coverage and threats by phone and social media to kill her and burn down her home led to her eventual retirement.
‘I wish that people who seek to vilify child abuse pediatricians would somehow find the critical knowledge, tools and framework to better understand and represent the tremendous challenges these children and their families and caretakers present for our society and for physicians,’ she said.
Anderson said Johns Hopkins is liable for Smith’s actions as an agent for the hospital.
‘Sally Smith has settled her personal case for an amount we cannot reveal due to confidentiality agreements baked into the settlement documents,’ he explained.
‘The Kowalskis are pursuing Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for its role in making Sally Smith part of the hospital’s operations – she ran its child abuse department.
‘Sally Smith is a witness at trial, she has at least two prior court decisions where a court has found that her opinions could not be relied upon.’
Anderson said that the defendant’s in the Sept 11 trial will be Johns Hopkins and hospital staff member Cathy Bedy – who was accused of child abuse in the documentary.
‘The Kowalskis are hopeful that on September 11 they will finally be heard and have an opportunity for justice,’ said Anderson.
‘The Netflix documentary, with special thanks to Caitlin Keating and Henry Roosevelt, has done a great thing towards getting their message out.
‘Beata took her own life to free her daughter from ‘care’ by Johns Hopkins. The resulting litigation has been the worst I’ve seen’ Anderson said
Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who first diagnosed Maya with CRPS, confirmed her diagnosis to Smith in her initial investigation
‘Maya has CRPS and will have an exacerbated form the rest of her life. Jack, Kyle and Maya will continue to live with the consequences of JHACH’s actions the rest of their lives.’
When DailyMail.com reached out to JHACH, Danielle Caci, a hospital spokesperson, said they are ‘extremely limited in the amount of information we can release.’
‘Our priority at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is always the safety and privacy of our patients and their families. Therefore, we follow federal privacy laws that limit the amount of information we can release regarding any particular case,’ Caci said in a brief statement they provided.
‘Our first responsibility is always to the child brought to us for care, and we are legally obligated to notify the Department of Children and Families (DCF) when we detect signs of possible abuse or neglect.’
‘It is DCF that investigates the situation and makes the ultimate decision about what course of action is in the best interest of the child,’ she said.
Since the documentary’s release on June 19, the details of other families being wrongly accused at the same hospital have also surfaced including ‘American Idol’ finalist Syesha Mercado and father-of-two Vadim Kushner.
Kushnir and his wife had their son William, July 2018. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, turning him blue and bruises dotted his head and shoulders, according to the Daytona Beach News Journal.
For weeks he would cry at every touch and when he started to have seizures the worried parents took him into Johns Hopkins.
In 2021, a petition to fire Smith began to circulate – At the time, American Idol finalist Syesha Mercado and her partner Tyron Deener faced an eight month nightmare starting in Feb 2021 – when they brought their then 13-month-old son Amen’Ra to Johns Hopkins
Astonished fans and parents watched the drama unfold on a live social media feed – the reality star making a desperate plea to get her son home after she was wrongly accused of abuse
The next day, Smith came to inspect him and without introducing herself or answering their questions took photos of the newborn, including his genitals.
‘This is child abuse, and I’m going to prove it,’ she said, according to Vadim. Then she left.
According to court records William’s seizures were determined to be ‘the result of shaken baby or blunt force trauma’ according to Smith.
The Kushnirs fought back spending $30,000 on attorneys and experts who argued the baby’s condition resulted from a complicated birth not abuse.
The judge agreed and in the final order, even criticized the state’s doctors for not knowing their month old son wasn’t breathing at birth.
One doctor who provided testimony admitted he ‘never reviewed all his medical records,’ according to court records.
In 2021, a petition to fire Smith began to circulate as dozens of stories of families accused of abuse started to emerge, citing a USA Today investigation.
At the time, American Idol finalist Syesha Mercado and her partner Tyron Deener faced an eight month nightmare starting in Feb 2021 – when they brought their then 13-month-old son Amen’Ra to Johns Hopkins.
They were concerned that Mercado’s breast milk was running dry and the boy was not accepting other fluids – but instead of helping authorities placed her infant son in foster care over concerns about malnutrition.
They expected to bring him home after he was treated, but several weeks later, the couple was ordered off the hospital campus by police.
Six months later and about 10 days after Mercado gave birth to a daughter named Ast, police surrounded the couple’s car and took the girl into protective custody.
Mercado gave birth to a daughter named Ast, police surrounded the couple’s car and took the girl into protective custody
Mercado and Deener regained custody of their 16-month-old son Amen in October. Mercado captioned an Instagram post: ‘AMEN, RA IS OFFICIALLY HOME!!!’
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vpQs2ll8naM%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Astonished fans and parents watched the drama unfold on a live social media feed – the reality star making a desperate plea to get her son home.
‘This is my first time being a mom, and I’ve been deprived of holding my babies and feeding my babies,’ she said during a press conference in August that year.
‘I didn’t get to see Ra say, ‘Mama’ for the first time. I didn’t get to see my babies meet for the first time.
‘I didn’t get to see that and I can’t go back and redo that moment, I will never be able to go back and redo that moment.’
Deneer said: ‘If this can happen to us, it can happen to you. We have no criminal background. We have no history with DCF. We have done nothing wrong.’
By October, the whole family had been reunited.
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