Kowalski Pushes Back — and Is Rebuffed
Statutory Question Deemed Settled
In seeking rehearing, Maya urged the court to weigh whether Section 39 immunity should protect the hospital from tort claims a jury found were committed while she was in its custody. She framed the issue as one of “exceptional importance,” pointing to a statutory provision that withholds immunity from anyone suspected of abusing or neglecting a child or committing illegal acts against one.
The appellate court declined to reopen the issue, leaving its reversal intact.
Tragedy Behind the Case
The Kowalskis brought Maya to the hospital’s emergency room in October 2016 with severe abdominal pain. Hospital staff became concerned about potential medical child abuse after Beata Kowalski pressed doctors to administer high doses of ketamine, prompting a report to Florida’s Department of Children and Families.
Maya was removed from her parents’ custody days later and remained hospitalized for 97 days. Beata Kowalski died by suicide in January 2017.
In November 2023, a Sarasota jury awarded the family $211 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages, finding the hospital liable on all counts. Sarasota County Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll later trimmed more than $47 million from the award but denied the hospital’s request for a new trial — a ruling the appellate court ultimately overturned.
