'Take Care of Maya' trial: Sexual abuse allegations arise, could be added to complaints

A possible allegation of sexual abuse may be added to the complaints in a civil trial against a local St. Petersburg hospital after an attorney for the plaintiffs, the Kowalskis, disclosed the information Thursday after the jury was dismissed for the day.

Greg Anderson, the Kowalskis' lead attorney, told the judge and the defense he had new information that Maya Kowalski had recently recalled about a situation between her and an unidentified man wearing a white lab coat which could be a possible sexual abuse encounter after she was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in October 2016.

After the conclusion of the testimony of a pain medicine specialist, Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll dismissed the jury for the day and went over some issues with attorneys for the Kowalski family and Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital that needed to be addressed before Friday's testimony.

The Kowalski family sued All Children’s Hospital in 2018 for false imprisonment, negligent infliction of emotional distress, medical negligence, battery, and other claims more than a year after the family matriarch, Beata Kowalski, took her life following allegations she was abusing her daughter.

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The family took 10-year-old Maya Kowalski to All Children’s Hospital in October 2016 after she complained of severe stomach pain, believed by the family to be a relapse of her Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a disorder that impairs the central nervous system and heightens pain sensations. The illness is sometimes also referred to as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome.

Maya Kowalski was separated from her family, friends, and community following a Florida Department of Children and Families investigation and ordered by a judge to remain at the hospital. She remained separated for 91 days before reuniting with her father and brother shortly after her mother’s death.

Patricia Crauwels, a co-counsel representing the hospital, asked Carroll to give further instruction to the jury that there is no claim of sexual abuse against the hospital in the case.

Crauwels raised the issue in reference to the beginning of a question asked by Nick Whitney, co-counsel for the Kowalski family, on Tuesday when addressing Dr. Tashawna Duncan, a psychologist hired by the family to perform an evaluation in late 2016.

According to part of the transcript from the proceeding, Crauwels stated that Whitney asked: "If the record shows that MK did complain to the doctors at the hospital of physical and sexual abuse on multiple occasions ..." before being promptly cut off by a lawyer's objection.

Carroll instructed the jury Tuesday to ignore the question, but Crauwels said they didn't believe that was sufficient.

However, before Carroll could reply, Anderson disclosed the new information relating to that specific allegation.

Anderson said that while looking to drop social worker Catherine Bedy from the lawsuit, he had asked Maya Kowalski to tell him about every encounter — big or small — that had happened while she was at the hospital. Anderson told the Court that Maya Kowalski had relayed to him there was a time when someone she perceived to be a doctor came into the room without a chaperone or assistant.

Anderson said Maya Kowalski described the man as being tall, thin, with dirty blonde hair, round glasses and wearing a white lab coat similar to those worn by doctors at the hospital before committing an act of sexual abuse.

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The man then left, turning around at the door to speak briefly, Anderson said, adding that Maya said she never saw the man again.

"Now, as an officer of the Court, I swear ... had I known anything about this I would have immediately brought it to the attention of the Court and to opposing counsel," Anderson said, adding he waited the last few days before bringing the information forward to corroborate the information.

The plaintiffs were able to find a witness, a friend of Maya's who she had confided in about two years after the incident and is willing to testify, and they found a note in one of the records by Dr. Jennifer Katzenstein, a treating psychologist at All Children's Hospital who had evaluated Maya.

In the note, dated Oct. 17, 2016, Katzenstein said Maya denied any history of sexual abuse, but that she did tell Katzenstein about the incident regarding the man who she believed was a doctor at the hospital. Maya was admitted into the hospital on Oct. 7, 2016.

Anderson added that his team discretely and abstractly asked their witnesses who are psychiatrists about the situation, who confirmed that such memories can often be suppressed.

Carroll said that he needs to better understand what the plaintiffs are asking the judge specifically to do, or not do, in the situation and to give the defense time to respond.

"Obviously, we have a question of late disclosure and whether it's within the pleadings or not," Carroll said.

Both sides have been given time to draft their positions regarding the new allegation, and provide case law about the issue, which will be discussed on Tuesday.

Chris Altenbernd, another attorney for All Children's Hospital, argued that the new allegation is "totally outside the pleadings."

"If they want to do it in this lawsuit, they have to file a motion to amend their pleadings to add that to the complaint and we can start this trial another year from now," Altenbernd said. "So, they can't try that in this case."

Ethen Shapiro, attorney for the hospital, expressed surprise at the new allegations being brought up two weeks into the trial after the jury had already heard several witnesses testify. He added in his statement the defense expects the judge "will not see fit to introduce them into this case."

“As Florida’s leading children’s hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s first priority is always the safety and compassionate care of their patients," Shapiro said. "We remain focused on demonstrating to the Court and jury the truth: that the staff of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital provided the highest standards of care and strictly followed all of the appropriate and legally required processes while Maya Kowalski was in their care.”

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Attorney for Kowalski family discloses possible sexual abuse allegations