Take Care of Maya is trending on Netflix, so where are the Kowalski family now?

After the assessment by Dr Sally Smith, Maya was removed from her parents care and into the state’s for over three months while hospitalised. During this time her mother Beata died by suicide after fighting to get her daughter back. Her mother was intensely fearful for her daughter’s safety, not least because the social worker, Catherine ‘Cathi’ Bedi looking after Maya had child abuse charges against her.

Beata, who was a nurse, had also had a psychological assessment in this time and it proved she didn’t suffer from Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Of this time, Maya said to US magazine, People: “One day I was in the ICU, and my mom kissed me on the forehead and was like, ‘I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ I never saw her again. I was medically kidnapped. I tried being hopeful, but there was a point where I thought, ‘I’m never getting out of this place’.”

Maya was returned to her father Jack five days after her mother’s death.

In the seven years since these events, the family have been fighting to make their case known and in 2018 they raised a lawsuit against the hospital, though the documentary details how the case has been postponed many times.

At the end of Take Care of Maya, it’s shown that in December 2021, the Kowalskis received $2.5 million (£1.97 million) from their case against Dr Sally Smith and her employer, Suncoast Advocacy Services. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg in their lawsuit.

When will the trial take place?

The family’s trial will commence on 11 September 2023.

The Kowalski’s lawyers AndersonGlenn LLP are putting forward a case for $55 million in compensation and $165 million (£130 million) in punitive damages against the hospital. Cathi Bedy, the social worker, has been named as well.

The accusations are “a host of wrongdoings, including medical malpractice, holding Maya against her will, dismissing the advice of her paediatricians, ignoring signs that her mother was on the verge of a breakdown and forbidding Maya access to her rosary and prayer documents,” states The Herald-Tribune.

“I want justice for my mom,” Maya told People magazine of the forthcoming trial

So, where is Maya now?

Now 17-years-old, Maya lives in Venice, Florida with her dad Jack and brother Kyle.

Maya still suffers with CRPS. She told People magazine: “I do my best to push through. I’ve already missed a lot, so I want to make the most of life now.”

Maya shared photos to her Instagram recently from Tribeca Film Festival which she attended with her boyfriend Jon Luc and where the documentary had its world premiere. It was directed by Henry Roosevelt.