CRPS

The famous documentary, “Take Care of Maya,” is raising questions about the role hospitals play in protecting children.

As the documentary explains, 10-year-old Maya was diagnosed with a rare and very painful condition known as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). To help relieve her pain, her mother, a registered nurse, pushed for ketamine treatments. However, hospital staff grew skeptical of the amount of ketamine Maya was receiving and reported her to the state’s Department of Children and Families.

Suddenly a court order placed Maya in the hospital’s custody—separating her from her parents for over three months. During this time of separation, her mother died by suicide. When Maya’s situation was taken to court in 2023, the jury found the hospital to be guilty of false imprisonment, medical negligence, battery, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They were ordered to pay about $213 million.

However, it was later determined that the trial court made major legal errors, and the ruling was overturned. It has now been decided that the hospital acted in “good faith,” doing what health care officials found to be best in the midst of a difficult situation. The case continues to be debated, with its implications of protection and power reaching far beyond Maya’s case.