SUB-HEADING: "'Take Care of Maya': Kowalski family lawyers prepare for trial against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital."
SUB-HEADING: "At a pre-trial hearing Friday, lawyers argued over several court motions about which witnesses, expert testimonies and recordings to allow as evidence."
GIST: TAMPA, Florida — A local family that sued Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital is set to have their day in court next month. The story of Maya Kowalski and her family is the subject of the Netflix documentary, 'Take Care of Maya.'
The documentary, which was released on June 19, details the family's harrowing experience and the tragedy that followed.
Maya's parents, Jack and Beata Kowalski, drove from their home in Venice to the emergency room in October 2016 after their 10-year-old daughter was experiencing excruciating pain.
They said the pain was from debilitating Complex Regional Pain Syndrome which Maya was receiving doses of ketamine as part of her medical treatment as recommended by specialists.
But according to the family's lawsuit, hospital staff accused Beata Kowalski of child abuse and Munchausen syndrome by proxy. They said she had made the child's illness up and was overtreating her and shopping for doctors.
The allegations were levied and court orders sought, despite support from various medical reports about Maya's diagnosis, physician-recommended treatments, and referrals, the lawsuit stated.
Maya. now 17, was separated from her family for three months and her mother took her own life, leaving behind notes, including for the judge and hospital staff that expressed her despair and frustration.
At a pre-trial hearing Friday, lawyers for both sides argued over several court motions about which witnesses, expert testimonies and recordings to allow as evidence.
In December 2021, Dr. Sallie (sic) Smith, who escalated into an investigation of the report that triggered the family's ordeal, reached a $2.5 million settlement with the family.
Smith was the former director of Pinellas County Department of Children and Family but was working with the group Suncoast Advocacy Services at the time.
The trial in the case begins on Sept. 11.
Maya Kowalski and her family are suing the hospital for a total of $220 million. They seek $55 million in compensatory and $165 million in punitive damages."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/maya-kowalski-family-trial-johns-hopkins-all-childrens-hospital/67-7a4159d8-95e1-477f-9d4c-8068b54d10ff
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.
Lawyer Radha Natarajan;
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/
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