VENICE, Fla. — The defense continues to have the floor in the $220 million 'Take Care of Maya' lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital as the trial clocks one month since it started.
The Kowalski family of Venice is suing the hospital for medical malpractice, battery and false imprisonment for keeping Maya Kowalski from them for 87 days.
Jurors heard testimony from a former Sarasota County Sheriff's detective who was called to investigate suspicions of child abuse involving mom, Beata Kowalski, and her handling of her then 10-year-old daughter's treatment for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Stephanie Graham said she met with Jack Kowalski at All Children's Hospital on Nov. 17, 2016. She said he was there on his own accord and by law, she didn't need to advise him that she was recording the interview. In court, jurors listened to several clips of their conversation.
Graham: "My bigger question is why would a parent go through these extremes?"
Jack Kowalski: "Because I am told this is the last resort."
Graham: "But you're saying it's not."
The detective said the interview with Jack Kowalski was facilitated by hospital social worker Cathi Bedy and Dr. Sally Smith with Pinellas County's Child Protection Team.
She said they were provided a private family room at the hospital where she asked him about his wife, Beata Kowalski and their daughter Maya Kowalski who was already in state custody and sheltered there.
"I had already told him this was voluntary, the door was unlocked and he was free to leave if he wanted," Graham said.
But she said Jack Kowalski stayed even after advising him she was recording and spoke for over an hour.
In two of the audio clips, Jack Kowalski is heard telling Graham that when he was home with his daughter, she would be fine and normal. But as soon as her mother came home, she would start complaining of pain.
"Wasn't there a question from you, somewhere along the line, that are we doing the right thing, and maybe we should go back and talk to another doctor and do something more conventional and not something that is likely to kill her," said Graham in the audio clip.
"I am accepting of them keeping her here, that's what I told you, if you think something else, I am supportive of keeping her here," said Jack Kowalski in a tone that appeared agreeable and consented to his daughter staying at the hospital.
However, during previous testimony, Jack Kowalski said he felt like he had no choice at the time because Maya Kowalski had already been in state custody for about a month and it had been implied at different times in both subtle and direct language that he could face arrest if he took his daughter out of the hospital.
Graham said she pressed Jack Kowalski further with questions and learned more about his wife's reactions to the medical plan and her overall behavior.
"He said she wasn't being cooperative with the things that were being requested," Graham said. "He had offered to me that given the opportunity to bring Maya home, he would have Beata move out."
The plaintiff's counsel also confronted Graham about her intent and questioning strategy.
"At that point, you hadn't even found a reasonable suspicion is that right?" said Greg Anderson, the plaintiff's lead counsel.
"I had a DCF report, I had a medical staff on the child protection team voicing concerns about the health and well-being of this child with the concerns focused on the mother and her inappropriate behavior and I had a reasonable suspicion to go speak with him to find out his opinion or what his basis were in the matter," Graham said.
Anderson also pressed her about advising Jack Kowalski about legal representation during the questioning, and she said the interview was on a voluntary basis and he was free to stay or discontinue with compulsion.
According to the law, Florida is a "two-party" consent state which requires parties in private conversation to give consent for any recording to be legal. However, law enforcement gathering evidence of possible criminal act are exempted.
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office never wrapped up a full investigation because Beata Kowalski died by suicide. The family blames hospital staff for her death over allegations of child abuse.