Maya Kowalski and her family, who feature in the Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya, have been awarded NZD$431 million in damages after winning a civil trial against a Florida children's hospital.
A jury found Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital liable on claims of malpractice, wrongful death, false imprisonment, battery, and fraudulent billing. The hospital was also found liable of causing the mother, Beata Kowalski, undue emotional distress in the months before her death in 2017.
In an exclusive interview with Breakfast, now 17-year-old Kowalski said winning the first civil trial was life-changing.
"For the first time we finally get an answer that was true. All this time we have been fighting and we have some people who believe us and others not so much — but the jury proved my mum right," Kowalski told presenter Jenny-May Clarkson.
Beata took her own life less than 48 hours after she was denied access to her daughter in hospital for a hug.
Kowalski said had her mother been allowed that hug, the circumstances could be different.
"I absolutely do. I really believe that physical touch is important especially in a mother and daughter relationship," Kowalski said.
"We were always really on each other, we loved hugging. We were very affectionate and being denied for three months was excruciating on my end.
"So with her being denied I definitely believe it led to her death."
Howard Hunter, a lawyer for the hospital, said they would appeal the decision. In a statement to the New York Times after the verdict, he said the hospital had followed its protocol for when it suspects child abuse.
“We are determined to defend the vitally important obligation of mandatory reporters to report suspected child abuse and protect the smallest and most vulnerable among us,” he said.
'It's not completely over'
Kowalski said while she is happy with the verdict, the case is not over.
"It most definitely gives me a sense of peace. Unfortunately, it's not completely over.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the defence decided to appeal, but I would say I am 99% there now. It's just waiting for it to be completely over so my Dad, my brother and I can completely cut ties with the defence and move on with our lives," she said.
Kowalski is now suing the hospital for a second time, alleging she was sexual abused while in their care.
The hospital's lawyer told Fox News that the allegations were being taken seriously.
“As soon as the hospital became aware of the allegations, and in accordance with their policies, they immediately initiated an internal investigation and contacted law enforcement last month,” they said.
“Federal privacy laws restrict Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital from sharing more, but the hospital takes allegations of this nature very seriously and always puts the safety of their patients above all else.”
Kowalski's lawyer Greg Anderson encouraged her to put in the second claim.
"For them to deny what happened now is overwhelming to me," Anderson said.
The judge in Kowalski''s case did not include the sexual abuse allegations as a part of the first trial, as those allegations were only made during the proceedings.
"We tried to include this into the case and in fact Maya bravely testified in what's known as a proper, so not before a jury, and laid it all out.
"But the court decided, probably correctly, that because it had not been a part of the suit at the beginning that he was not going to join it into the lawsuit at a later date," Anderson said.
'Focus on the positives'
Kowalski said she hoped to be a voice for others.
"Throughout my entire life, especially when I was like nine, 10, when I got sick... I have been dismissed of pain and now for sexual assault I was also being dismissed.
"I am just tired of people thinking I am faking it or lying about things and I want to be a voice for the people who also need to share their story. I wanna take a stand and this needs to be resolved."
Kowalski also spoke about her rare pain condition.
"With my chronic pain, it's not amazing. Every day is a battle, but I find what works for me and I'm very grateful for the day where I am able to do more than I was the prior day.
"I try to focus on the positives instead of all the negatives because if you hyper fixate on that, it's basically game over."
By Tom Day and Jenny-May Clarkson
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