ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Trial attorney and author Gregory Andrew Anderson is receiving the praise, accolades, and acclaim he deserves as he represents the Kowalski family in Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins. The intrepid attorney has taken on hundreds of cases, netting his clients the best possible outcome with absolute confidence. Unstoppable and relentless in his representation across a wide variety of clients, Gregory A. Anderson is a legal titan that’s ready to fight tooth & nail for his clients.
The case in question, Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins, has yielded a documentary and new book, Take Care of Maya, both covering the events leading to the historic lawsuit. Due out in the middle of 2023, the book is written by Maya’s Lawyer, Gregory Anthony Anderson who coauthored the book with James Defelice, the New York Times best selling author of American Sniper. Representing Maya Kowalski’s family in this national news case, Gregory Anderson showed commitment to providing impassioned advocacy for his client through seeking justice for her abuse, cycling diagnoses, and the suffering of a family tangled in a web of medical confusion.
Maya Kowalski – who suffers from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a neurological disorder that typically causes chronic pain or sensitivity after an injury or impact to a limb – was subjected to the alleged abuse, harassment, and critical skepticism from medical professionals as her condition was questioned. Maya’s family also suffered emotional turmoil as they were investigated due to a false diagnosis of Munchausen by proxy.
Maya’s Story
In Fall of 2016, Maya Kowalski was admitted to Johns Hopkins for abdominal pain at 10 years old. Maya’s parents, Beata and Jack Kowalski, had told the hospital that Maya suffered from CRPS. They said that she was acutely sensitive to stimuli of all kinds and that disabling pain radiated through her legs and feet, requiring the use of a wheelchair. Maya spent the next 24 hours in the intensive-care unit at All Children’s, screaming and writhing. When a nurse attempted to conduct an ultrasound, her mother insisted that the only way Maya could tolerate the contact was by administering an infusion of ketamine.
The family’s demand for such a powerful drug triggered the concerns of the hospital staff and a social worker named Debra Hansen was scheduled to meet with the Kowalskis and filed a formal notice with the state, which was quickly dismissed for lack of evidence. However, Beata Kowalski, Maya’s mother, was involved in several misunderstandings with the staff due to a language barrier as well as mounting suspicion that there was not necessarily neglect but rather overtreatment. After a long process of conflict and confusion with the hospital – including abuse at the hands of medical professionals, diagnoses of Munchausen by proxy and factitious disorder, and emotional distress caused to the family – Maya was eventually vindicated as diagnosed with CRPS. The Kowalski family chose to retaliate legally to earn compensation for the tireless treatments and tests – as well as the turmoil caused to Maya and her family.
As well as representing the Kowalski’s in their suit against Johns Hopkins, Anderson assisted when the Kowalskis sued All Children’s, DCF, Suncoast, Smith, and Bedy in October 2018, leading a judge to determine that there was sufficient evidence for punitive damages to be awarded for the charges of battery and false imprisonment. Early this year, Smith and Suncoast settled their portion of the lawsuit for $2.5 million. The case against All Children’s and Bedy continues. In March, on the eve of jury selection, a judge delayed Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins indefinitely.
Attorney Gregory A. Anderson on Winning “Unwinnable” Cases
“There’s a handful of great trial lawyers out there that win tens of millions – even hundreds of million dollars,” Anderson explains. “But they all accomplish this under a particular set of circumstances. They win with a home-court advantage, a judge they know, and an area of law they are precisely qualified to practice. That is not what I do. I step into the harshest forums. I take on difficult cases with presiding judges that don’t know me at all against their most favored attorneys and I still win. That’s what I do, I take on unwinnable cases and win. Big.”
Gregory A. Anderson will be featured prominently in the upcoming book and documentary, Take Care of Maya.
