VENICE — A final judgment has been entered in the Kowalski family’s lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, but the Kowalskis likely won’t see any money unless and until they win an appeal.
The judgment, entered Jan. 19 by Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll, totals about $208.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages, a reduction from the $261 million a jury awarded in November.
After a two-month trial, the jury found JHACH liable on claims of false imprisonment, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, medical malpractice and billing fraud.
The claims arose out of the hospitalization of Maya Kowalski from October 2016 to January 2017 related to a diagnosed case of complex regional pain syndrome.
A documentary on Netflix, “Take Care of Maya,” told the family’s story.
JHACH reported suspicions that she was being manipulated by her mother, Beata Kowalski, to the Department of Children and Families, which took custody of the girl under a shelter order.
The DCF investigation was closed in January 2017, shortly after Beata Kowalski committed suicide in the belief, the jury found, that it was the only way to get Maya released from state custody.