SARASOTA, Fla. — Less than two weeks after a Sarasota County jury found Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital liable for all civil claims in the "Take Care of Maya Trial," the hospital has asked for a new trial amid claims of juror misconduct.
According to Johns Hopkins, their motion filed Wednesday "sets forth a reasonable basis for a belief that Juror #1 - the foreperson - engaged in presumptively prejudicial misconduct during the course of the trial by deliberately disregarding the Court's specific instructions (i) not to discuss the case with anyone during the trial, (ii) not to consider any evidence or information outside of what was presented during the trial, and (iii) not to form or express any opinion about the case prior to deliberations."
The motion said that evidence discovered by the defense after the trial revealed '"potentially harmful' and therefore 'presumptively prejudicial' juror misconduct arising out of improper communications and contacts between Juror #1 and his wife who resided in the same household during the course of the nine-week trial."
During the trial, the hospital was found liable for the following civil claims:
- False imprisonment of Maya Kowalski
- Battery of Maya Kowalski
- Fraudulent billing of Jack Kowalski
- Inflicting emotional distress on Beata Kowalski
- Wrongful death claim for the estate of Beata Kowalski
- Intentionally inflicting emotional distress on Maya Kowalski
In the request for a new trial, Johns Hopkins lawyers said the evidence, "warrants a juror interview and a new trial for the added reason that Juror #1's wife's involvement on social media during the course of the trial, her undisguised bias in favor of Plaintiffs, and her alignment with a social media influencer closely linked to Plaintiffs, known as 'Jules' - as the spouse of the jury foreman - undeniably compromises the integrity of the judicial system."
The civil trial involved allegations regarding Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Pinellas County and the Kowalski family. Jack Kowalski, for himself and on behalf of his children, including Maya, and his late wife, Beata, sued the hospital.
According to court documents, in 2015, a doctor diagnosed Maya with “Complex Regional Pain Syndrome” and gave her ketamine infusion treatments.
The court records say in 2016, Maya was taken to All Children’s, where it says Beata explained Maya’s condition and that the family relayed what they said were “appropriate dosages of pain medications.”
Court documents said the hospital reported Beata to the DCF child abuse hotline and later said that the hospital notified the family that they would not be allowed to leave with Maya.
The nearly 100-page document stated that Beata suffered “multiple discernable physical injuries, up to and including her suicide, each caused by the psychological trauma inflicted by the Defendants’ abhorrent actions.”
Maya's story was turned into a Netflix documentary called "Take Care of Maya." It debuted on June 19, 2023.
