Almost two weeks subsequent to a jury awarding $261 million in damages against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, the hospital’s attorneys filed for a retrial Wednesday, accusing the jury foreman of violating strict conduct rules during the trial.
According to the motion filed in Sarasota County, hospital attorneys claimed that juror Paul Lengyel shared case information with his wife, who then posted it on social media. Yolanda Lengyel, the juror’s wife, also attended at least one day of the trial, making it possible for her to hear attorney discussions with the judge that were made outside of the jury’s presence.
The case, popularized in a Netflix documentary film, involved the jury finding that All Children’s in 2016 falsely imprisoned and battered 10-year-old Maya Kowalski and contributed to her mother’s suicide, gaining national and international attention.
During the trial, Yolanda Lengyel made frequent posts on live YouTube feeds and in a Facebook chat group largely supportive of the Kowalski family. The legal filing includes screengrabs from social media. The motion also mentions a video posted by a social media influencer, known as Jules, who is connected to the Kowalski family, as evidence of impropriety.
Hospital attorneys previously attempted to get Lengyel removed from the jury, arguing that his questions to witnesses indicated that he had made up his mind about the case before all the evidence was presented. However, their request was turned down by Judge Hunter Carroll.
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He could not be reached for comment.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/YJFW23QYMZEBFLOWPDOEUJZQFM.png "A social media post made by juror Paul Lengyel after the conclusion of the jury trial over Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital's treatment of Maya Kowalski and her family.")
In a separate filing, hospital attorneys also claimed that the Kowalskis’ attorneys misled jurors to award the family an incorrect amount of money, describing wrongful death damages of more than $100 million as “patently excessive.”
The Kowalskis sued All Children’s in 2018 over the treatment of Maya Kowalski and her family following an October 2016 emergency room visit. At that time, Maya was removed by the state and sheltered at All Children’s for three months after her mother, Beata Kowalski, took her own life.
The case received widespread attention after being the subject of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya,” which garnered almost 14 million views in two weeks following its June release.
