A civil case between the Kowalski family and St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital entered mediation, but according to court documents, it has been unsuccessful, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported April 24.
The documents state that efforts to address motions for outstanding sanctions, costs and attorney fees have proven unsuccessful, prompting the family's attorney, Greg Anderson, to request judicial intervention.
Mr. Anderson said the mediation was held on April 15 and lasted two and a half hours despite being scheduled for a full day.
"It was spectacularly unsuccessful — even as to fees and costs," he told the publication in an emailed statement.
According to court records, there is another hearing scheduled for August to review the family's requests for bar referral and attorney fees.
The Kowalski family sued Johns Hopkins All Children's in 2018 after the hospital reported Beata Kowalski, the mother of Maya Kowalski, who was a patient at the hospital, for suspected child abuse in 2016 after she requested ketamine to treat her daughter for chronic pain. The girl was removed by the state and sheltered at the hospital for three months, a time during which Beata Kowalski died by suicide.
A Netflix documentary titled "Take Care of Maya," released in June, covered the incident and was viewed nearly 14 million times in the first two weeks of its debut.
In court, a jury's verdict found that the hospital was guilty of inflicting emotional distress on the Kowalski family and contributing to Beata Kowalski's suicide. The hospital was ordered to pay the family compensatory and punitive damages of $208,451,176, according to the newspaper.
The hospital has not disbursed the awarded amount to the family as Johns Hopkins appealed the case, citing "clear and prejudicial errors."
"We will pursue the appeals process for as long as necessary to reach a final, just conclusion for the physicians, nurses and staff of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and all those who are legally and morally obligated to speak up for the most vulnerable among us if they suspect abuse," Ethen Shapiro, co-counsel for Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, told the publication.