VENICE, Fla. — Medical malpractice or due diligence?
The Kowalski family's lawsuit accused Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Pete of medical malpractice, battery, false imprisonment, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The case was featured in the Netflix documentary, "Take Care of Maya."
While caring for Maya Kowalski, the hospital reported possible child abuse because of the high dosage of medicine. Maya was kept away from her family during the investigation. The lawsuit goes on to state that led Maya's mother- Beata- to take her own life. However, the hospital claims it acted in Maya's best interest.
"There's no evidence anywhere that Maya Kowalski was ever in any danger. Maya Kowalski ever suffered any negative effect ever," Gregory Anderson, attorney for the Kowalskis, said during opening statements in court last Thursday.
"We had no reason to wish this family harm, and we still don't. Indeed there's a tragic outcome in this case, in terms of Mrs. Kowalski's suicide, and we regret very much that that happened," Howard Hunter, attorney for Johns Hopkins, said in his openings.
As that question plays out in court here at ABC Action News, we wanted to know: could it have lasting impacts on hospital workers who report potential abuse? We took our questions to Farah & Farah attorney, Laurence Huttman.
"While the basis is the alleged misdiagnosis, all of the other claims and the ultimate damages to this family are unique to a malpractice case, quite frankly," he said.
I asked Huttman if this case could change how medical workers handle possible abuse cases.
"I think it will require much more thoroughness, completeness. And if you're going to pin a diagnosis on a patient that's kind of codependent on things outside of just the medical records, I think you have to be very objective," he said.
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital explained why the report happened in a statement, saying:
"Our staff are required by law to notify Florida's Department of Children and Families (DCF) if they suspect abuse or neglect. It is DCF and a judge – not Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital – that investigates the situation and makes the ultimate decision about what course of action is in the best interest of the child."
But could this case have implications for the law?
"There's a reporting privilege, and the policy behind you see something, you say something. You report it, you investigate. I don't think the plaintiffs are challenging that," he added.
