Kowalski vs. Johns Hopkins: Lawsuit, Verdict, and Reversal

The Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins lawsuit produced a $261 million jury verdict against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in November 2023, but a Florida appeals court wiped out the entire judgment in October 2025, ruling the hospital was largely shielded by a state immunity law protecting institutions that act in good faith during child abuse investigations. The family has since asked the Florida Supreme Court to review the reversal, and the case remains open.

How the Dispute Began

Maya Kowalski had Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a chronic condition causing severe, often burning pain. In October 2016, her parents brought her to the emergency room at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, for a severe flare. Her mother, Beata Kowalski, asked staff to give Maya ketamine, part of her existing pain protocol.

Hospital staff, unfamiliar with Maya’s treatment history, grew suspicious that Beata might be fabricating or exaggerating her daughter’s illness, a form of child abuse sometimes called Munchausen syndrome by proxy (now more commonly known as factitious disorder imposed on another). Under Florida law, hospital personnel who suspect child abuse must report it to the Department of Children and Families immediately, and the law also lets medical staff detain a child without parental consent when returning the child home would pose an imminent danger.¹ The hospital reported the suspicion, refused to let the parents take Maya home, and a judge later issued a shelter order placing Maya in state custody at the hospital.

The Separation and Beata’s Death

Maya stayed separated from her parents for months. A no-contact order was entered between Beata and Maya pending psychological evaluations. Jack Kowalski, Maya’s father, testified at trial that the couple asked for Maya’s release and were told they would be arrested if they tried to remove her against medical advice.

On January 7, 2017, after 87 days apart from her daughter, Beata Kowalski died by suicide. She left notes describing her anguish over the separation and the abuse accusations. Five days later, Maya was released to her father and returned home.

What the Family Sued For

The Kowalskis sued Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital on seven counts:

False imprisonment, for confining Maya without proper legal authority, particularly in the days before the shelter order.
Battery, for unwanted medical examinations and photographs taken without consent.
Medical negligence, for failing to properly treat Maya’s CRPS while she was in the hospital’s custody.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress on Maya, for the isolation and treatment she experienced.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress on Beata, tied to the psychological crisis that preceded her death.
Fraudulent billing, for charges tied to treatments the family says Maya did not need.
Wrongful death, arguing Beata’s suicide was a foreseeable consequence of the hospital’s conduct.

How the Hospital Defended Itself

The hospital’s defense rested on two ideas. First, its staff had no choice: Florida law requires anyone who suspects child abuse to report it, and lists hospital personnel among mandatory reporters.² Second, Florida’s immunity statute shields any person or institution that participates in good faith in actions authorized by the state’s child welfare chapter from civil and criminal liability.³ The hospital argued that everything from the initial detention to cooperating with the DCF investigation fell inside that protection. It also emphasized that once the shelter order issued, it was following a judge’s directive, not making its own choice to keep Maya.

The 2023 Verdict

The trial lasted eight weeks. In November 2023, the jury found the hospital liable on all seven counts and awarded the family $261 million: roughly $211 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.⁴

The trial judge later reduced the award by $47.5 million, bringing the total to about $213.5 million. The biggest cut was to Jack Kowalski’s noneconomic damages, reduced from $50 million to $24 million. His economic damages fell from $18 million to $2 million, with smaller reductions to Maya’s and her brother Kyle’s economic damages.

The 2025 Appeals Court Reversal

In October 2025, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal reversed the entire judgment.⁴ The court found the trial judge had misread the immunity statute. Florida law protects anyone who participates in good faith in any act authorized or required by the child welfare chapter.³ The trial court had treated that protection as narrow, essentially limiting it to the initial report. The appeals court said the immunity reaches all authorized actions, including detaining the child, cooperating with the investigation, and taking part in the resulting court proceedings. That error, the panel said, “permeated the entire trial.”

The panel then went through the claims:

On false imprisonment for October 7 to 13, the hospital had legal authority under the child detention statute and no evidence showed bad faith, so the claim should never have reached the jury.¹
On Beata’s emotional distress claim, the family failed to present legally sufficient evidence that the hospital’s conduct was directed at her, a required element.
On Maya’s emotional distress claim, the trial court had improperly admitted evidence that should have been shielded by immunity and let the jury lean on evidence from other claims to meet the legal threshold.
On medical negligence, because the doctor acted under the authority of the child welfare statute, liability required proof of bad faith, which the family did not provide.
On punitive damages, there was no clear and convincing evidence of intentional misconduct or gross negligence, the standard Florida requires.
On fraudulent billing, Jack Kowalski offered no evidence of a false statement in the billing or of financial harm.

The court did not close the case entirely. It sent the matter back for a possible new trial on a narrower set of issues: Maya’s emotional distress claim and the remaining portions of the false imprisonment, battery, and medical negligence claims not disposed of by immunity.

Where the Case Stands Now

Maya and Jack Kowalski have petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to review the reversal, arguing the appeals court’s decision conflicts with other Florida appellate rulings. The case is docketed as SC2026-0204, with jurisdictional briefs filed on March 18, 2026.⁵ The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to take the case.

Mediation in December 2025 ended without a settlement. If the Supreme Court declines review or affirms the appeals court, the surviving claims could still go to a new trial, but on a much smaller footing than the first. Beata’s emotional distress claim, the fraudulent billing claim, and the punitive damages are gone. The immunity ruling can only be undone by the state’s highest court, and only if it agrees to take the case.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 39.395 – Detaining a Child; Medical or Hospital Personnel
2
Child Welfare Information Gateway. Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect – Florida
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 39.203 – Immunity From Liability
4
Justia Case Law. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Inc. v. Kowalski, Kowalski, et al
5
Florida Courts. Jack Kowalski, et al. v. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Inc.