“If I got to choose between $261 million or my mom, I’d pick my mom. You could put a billion dollars in front of me cash, I’d still pick her,” 18-year-old Maya Kowalski says.
Teenager Maya Kowalski and her family were awarded $261 million after Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital reported suspected child abuse to authorities, which caused so much stress her mother ended her life. The 18-year-old spoke with Inside Edition about her bittersweet win.
“If I got to choose between $261 million or my mom, I’d pick my mom. You could put a billion dollars in front of me cash, I’d still pick her,” Kowalski says.
Her battle became one of the most-watched Netflix shows of the year.
As a child Kowalski was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS. In 2016, she was admitted to one of the nation’s most prestigious hospitals, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. But, hospital staff suspected Maya’s mother, a nurse, of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which is when a parent fakes or exaggerates a child’s illness to get attention.
Child Protective Services were notified and Kowalski’s mother, Beata Kowalski, was ordered to have no contact with her still-hospitalized daughter.
“They made up lies about my mom,” Maya says. “She was tormented. The mental warfare that they put her through, it was insane.”
Three months later, Beata took her own life, leaving behind a suicide note reading, “I’m sorry, but I no longer can take the pain being away from Maya and being treated like a criminal.” Her husband found her and called 911.
The family sued the hospital on numerous claims, including the “medical kidnapping” of Maya and causing “severe emotional distress.” A jury awarded the family $261 million in damages. Maya, who still wears her mother’s jewelry, would trade the money in a heartbeat to have her mother back.
“There really isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her,” the 18-year-old says.
The hospital tells Inside Edition their first responsibility is always to the child brought to them for care and they are required by law to report suspected child abuse. They say they stand behind their staff’s “compassionate care.” The hospital also said they would appeal the verdict.
