all is not well in Florida

[My "Mission Impossible 7" review is here.]

I'd never heard of Maya Kowalski, but I found this long article about her struggle impossible to turn away from. As a little girl, Maya suffered from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a condition that left her in agony, but Dr. Sally Smith, a healthcare worker involved with pediatric protection, wondered whether Maya was being abused at home. Thus began a nightmare for the Kowalski family in which Maya was taken away from her parents while healthcare professionals monitored her symptoms to see whether they might disappear in the absence of her supposed abusers. The symptoms did not disappear, and as the months stretched out, Maya's mother Beata could no longer take the stress of being both separated from her child and being unjustly accused of child abuse; she committed suicide, hanging herself in the family garage. Husband Jack was left to parent alone, and after Maya was eventually released back into his custody, the family took legal action against the state of Florida and eventually won a lengthy court battle, being awarded $261 million for medical mistreatment, emotional damage, Maya's lost time away from her family, etc. The money must be small comfort since Maya lost her one and only mom in the ordeal, but at least some small measure of justice was served. Dr. Smith, who has a reputation for accusing parents of child abuse, remains unapologetic about her role in having Maya separated from her family; Smith has since retired. To my knowledge, she suffered no adverse consequences as a result of her conduct. A Netflix documentary titled "Take Care of Maya" came out earlier this year. I don't think the documentary includes the trial's verdict, which was arrived at around a week ago.