To the judge, hospital staff, and all involved in the system, remember for the rest of your life, you are evil. Sooner or later, karma will pay back.

The doctor responsible for having Maya taken away from her family is the same doctor who had Syesha Mercado’s baby son taken away from her and her husband. If you haven’t heard of them, look it up. I followed Syesha’s story almost as soon as she started to speak out about it. Then when this documentary came out, I realized it was the same exact doctor: Sally Smith. A woman who is responsible for having countless children taken away from their loving families and ruining their lives. The fact that she is STILL a practitioner is abhorrent. She is a criminal.

There’s something very wrong with our medical system where a person can take a child away based on opinion and not fact. The way the mother and her daughter were treated were disgusting. I’m thankful for Netflix for giving this family the platform to tell their story. Hospitals and doctors are not Gods. I hope justice prevails.

The hospital billing is crazy! The attorneys really have something there. Why was the hospital treating her for an illness they didn't think she had?!?!

Reminds me of my sister. At age 12 she collapsed from a bad asthma attack and my parents tried to tell doctors what meds she needed, but they gave her something else ( which turned out to be the wrong meds) and ended up causing her to be in a vegetative state. Then, told my family she had less than 5 years to live. Yeah. That was in 1983. My sister is well and alive today. She's still in a vegetative state ( can't walk, eat on her own, or talk - anything like that) but she laughs a lot at our voices when we enter the room. Doctors are not always right.

That woman Sally Smith and Lee Haworth, the judge who wouldn't let Beata see her daughter, are a couple of soulless bastards. It's not possible face absolutely no consequences at all for their actions. They both deserve to be in jail. The documentary said the trial will finally begin in 9-11. I hope the Kowalskis get the justice they so long have waited for

I was bawling my eyes out while watching their story, I hope they got the justice they deserved!

Take care of Maya is the story of a happy family who were the victim of a flawed system and how it changed their entire lives forever. The damage that was done to this family is irreversible.

In 2014 my husband was falsely accused and arrested on child abuse charges because our 4-year-old daughter had a medical condition called ITP - Immune thrombocytopenic purpura which literally translates to spontaneous and excessive bruising and bleeding because the body attacks your platelets. We had no idea what it was. DCF didn't care to find out the truth. The court didn't care to find out the truth. UF Shands Hospital in Gainesville FL Pediatric Hem/Oc is who diagnosed her, educated DCF and saved my daughter. Too many people have the ability to destroy families and lives with no repercussions when they're wrong. DCF made a horrible mistake and not a single person ever apologized or took accountability. They hire morons and monsters. My husband was arrested and sent to jail, he had an injunction against me and the children and was isolated from his family. I lost both of my children and my husband for 6 weeks until the truth came out about the medical diagnosis. I haven't watched this documentary, but it seems all too familiar. Sad.

I just watched the documentary. It's horrifying, heartbreaking, and infuriating. Don't expect these stories to disappear, if you're one of the people who advocate for courts taking children away from their parents. Unless there is extreme, immediate, VERIFIABLE abuse, children belong with their parents, period.

This happened to me. It happens way more often than people realize. Never getting justice is a hard bitter pill to swallow

I was skeptical at first watching this, but the story is compelling and heart wrenching. As a nurse for 28 years myself, I carefully listened to both sides of the story. It’s apparent this family suffered an irreversible trauma. Thankful for the reporter exposing this injustice. This story needs to be told! Will be watching the upcoming trial closely.

What sucks the most is that innocent good parents get shit on while abusive garbage of human being get away with it

She finally won the lawsuit!!! The hospital has to pay her a ton of money now

I've never had a positive experience taking my kids to the hospital. This documentary is beyond gut wrenching but it's an eye opener.

Just finished watching this heart-wrenching documentary. Everyone should watch it. The corrupted system and all those evil doctor, judge, and social worker involved have to be exposed to the world! My deepest sympathy goes to the Kowalski family and wish they receive the justice they deserve eventually, otherwise, what hope is there for our society? Thank you, Netflix, for making another influential documentary!

This story is absolutely gut wrenching. I pray this family gets justice

Watched a few days ago, it was a difficult watch. Love to the Kowalski family for being so strong!

As a Marine Corps Veteran, few things shock me. What happened to this family and countless others... shakes me to my core. My heart breaks for these families. I hope this documentary helps put a stop to this. Praying for the Kowalskis and all those affected 🙏🏽

Sadly this is the reality for my family. My brother is serving a life sentence on a wrongful conviction. His son (my nephew) fell with his Mom from stroller to concrete at a year old, & was dropped off with my brother the following day. My nephew had a stroke, caused by the brain bleed (swelling/subdural hematoma) from the fall the day before. Because he was the last person with my nephew, my brother lost rights to his child, and CPS came after him, he has been in prison for 9 years. The court said “abusive head trauma.” Fortunately the CA innocence project is helping with his case, but not everyone is so lucky. It has been agonizing for him and for our family. They can kidnap your child and your life and there’s not a damn thing you can do! DCFS/CPS, the medical system, and our flawed judicial system needs a total overhaul!

Sincerely hope this family gets justice nothing will replace losing a mother/wife and the torture this child and her family faced but hopefully they get justice to let them get some sort of healing and closure

Something similar happened to me. I have a rare condition called mitochondrial disease. I am tube fed and very skinny and small for my age. When I was 16 a nutritionist that was supposed to help me, rushed treatment and me and my parents denied said treatment because we thought it was too fast and would have bad impacts. So the doctor called CPS on my parents and made false claims that I didn’t actually have any conditions, it was just because my parents didn’t feed me. Nothing came of the case but it’s still sad to see a doctor who’s supposed to help you do something like that

This documentary also reveals that the Department of Child and Family Services have way too much power, parents should never be separated from their children for doing what they believe was the right thing to do.

I just finished the documentary, and I’m shaken to my core of how flawed the system is. How little work was done to determine that a case is a child abuse case. It’s mind boggling especially since this is such a big hospital and trained medical professionals. They only do this to cover their own asses and not think how much of an impact it could bring to the families. I’m disgusted. My heart breaks for all the families that have experienced this injustice. There is nothing worse than being separated from your own parents when you’re a young child. I hope God sees this and justice will be brought to these families ❤

I've known children in the school district who are neglected & abused- NOTHING is ever done😡

watched this today with my mom... made both of us so angry and we bawled our eyes out 😢

Anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, watch it now. Great documentary but it’s brutal and heartbreaking

I’m a nurse and when it’s something this big, it’s our job and we are trained to always advocate for the patient. We should always initially be on the patient’s side. I’ve had tiger moms and I’ve felt their wrath in the hospital, but I also know they are scared because they have no control over their child’s condition at that moment in time (patience is key in a hospital). I feel for this mother. I feel for the daughter.

This film needs more promotion and publicity. I only discovered by pure confidence. The film was beautifully directed. The presentation of the story and facts was incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking. The story is shocking and devastating.

Ironic that they accused the mother of child abuse when it was them who were the abusers.

I have CRPS, and I can tell you, it is the most physically painful experience I have ever had the displeasure of going through. It gets so bad I want to have my leg amputated. However, if you knew me, I'd likely get phantom pain. I have thought about death with dignity but I don't want to just yet. I have things I still need to experience but somedays it is the only thing on my mind. You may think you know pain but you do not know this pain and consider yourself lucky. That ketamine treatment can cost upwards of $7k, and it's not covered by insurance so I cannot afford something that might help me. Again, that thought creeps in my head but I still have to fight. So, I am. Every freakin day, I fight. I fight the pain, I fight the mental anguish, I fight for my dogs, I fight for my life. Some disabilities aren't seen and some are. If someone tells you they have CRPS recognize that it is severe and it is mentally taxing. Please, whatever you do, do not negate our pain by saying, "Well, everyone has pain," or "You just have to fight through it." These are ignorant, and we are made to feel worse bc no one understands the immense agony we struggle with day in and day out. If you wanna know what level of pain it is, check out the McGill pain scale. If you want to help your loved one, listen to them, believe them, and whatever you do, DO NOT TOUCH THE EFFECTIVE LIMB. It hurts more than you can even know. Thankfully.

This definitely needs to be shared around the world to show how corrupt the system is and to expose the corrupt ones in the system

I just finished watching this documentary, and I can’t stop crying, my eyes are just full with tears, I feel so sad for this family,I will pray hard for this family, to receive the justice that they need, and all the rest of the families😢❤

Sitting here watching this right now. As a person who has been a Children’s Social Worker for almost 17 years this is an insane case of abuse of power. The mother did not give this child the medication the Hosptial did. The hospital, DCFS, the judge and law enforcement failed this family. I hope they sued the state.

I want to thank everybody who put this together for us to watch. It is the best documentary that everybody should watch. I watched it and broke down in tears. My heart broke for them 😭😭. I’m angry for them and I don’t even know them. How do we allow systems to be easily be abused by heartless power-hungry human beings like this!! This family along with many others that were in similar situation need their voices heard!!

I just watched documentary,I couldn’t control my tears 😢this is so cruel hope family gets justice..

From CPS to John's hopkins Drs and staff all the way to the judge WTF!! In a way this documentary is some form of justice. But it's not enough. May Beata rest in peace. ❤❤❤

I cried so much. Take care, Maya.

As a pain patient THANK YOU for covering the story for those that are in pain going to a pain management clinic is the worst thing a patient can do something needs to be done and I hope that the new rules in 2022 where the CDC has admitted making mistakes in connection with individuals that are in pain get listen to this case I think it’s going to be a game changer

One of the best movies I have seen. Love the Kowalski family for being so strong. Hopefully they will get the justice.

As someone who lives in Venice, FL and my children go to the same All Children’s Hospital in St. Pete this hit me hard , a must watch.

Cried so much during this documentary. We need to automate these doctors. Nurses are needed but doctors should be robots. I've encountered a Dr. Sally Smith when I was dealing with my mom when she was in the ICU. These doctors are so prideful it's ridiculous.

It’s such an unfortunate situation but the mom was right..they weren’t going to let that girl back to her family unless the mom was out of the picture..she did what she knew would make the change ..absolutely heartbreaking

I’ll never forget this story

This crushed me in so many ways, I have never cried like this through a movie ever in my life until now. I understand on a VERY small scale the frustrations of what happened as I have had similar experience when i was younger involving a rare, chronic pain to nerves in my brain causing temporary blindness, numbness, motor function issues, imbalance and endless excruciating pain. THE HURDLES they put us through... But to lose your mother in the process... and the sheer lack of remorse afterword, reflected in the legal proceedings that are still ongoing is just appalling, disgusting and dehumanizing :( I wish, with all my heart that I could reach through the screen and embrace them all... I cant even Imagine the pain they have all gone through, every single member of that beautiful family. If there are anyway to support them through the legal proceedings we need to know, I would back this with all my heart for sure. EDIT: I am EXTREMELY happy to hear that this family got the JUSTICE they deserve!!! Huge Victory and I imagine they feel like they can breath and relax now. I am so happy for them :D

I went doctors for years, I was accused of doctor shopping or just seeking pain meds. No one wanted to believe the amount of pain I was in. Finally after at least 10 years, a doctor figured it out. Thankfully my case is not as severe as Maya’s, poor child I don’t know how she could stand it. I’m a grandmother & I feel so sorry for this family, I can only imagine watching your child suffer in the most horrific pain ever. It literally steals your life.

I couldn’t even finish watching this 😭as a mother it was too much to handle & I hope and pray someone is held accountable

The ruling in this case set a precedence. A good one and it favors parents of child patients. So sad that Maya's mother is not here to witness this ruling, but happy to know her family got justice for her. ❤

This is the saddest thing I’ve seen in a long time. The pain this family has gone through is abhorrent. The fact that it’s also been happening & continues to happen to so many other families is beyond outraging. I hope the Kowalskis get the justice they deserve (though nothing will reverse the damage done) & that this brings light to all of the other cases like theirs. To those of you who’ve suffered because of this broken system, please know you have so many people behind you & we will do whatever we can to help you. If there’s petitions to sign or protests to be held, we will be there with you fighting. I’m so sorry for anyone who has ever gone through this and for the unfortunate people who will continue to. All the love in the world to you. 💜💜💜💜💜

This shook me to my core and broke my heart. I pray this family gets the peace and justice it deserves, just as much as every other family that has been in a similar situation.

This made me cry 😢😢😢 I feel so sorry what happened to this beautiful family 😢

Watched a few days ago . Blessings to the family. My respect to the dad 🙏🏽

I’ve heard of a lot of cases like this. There was even one on Dr. Phil. What are we supposed to do? These hospital are making you afraid of taking your child there.

I watched this doc. Speechless for good and bad reasons.

My ❤ goes out to this family & all the families who suffered under this system. After fighting my own legal battles against injustices I know the toll & the fortitude needed to hold them accountable for the harm inflicted not just for what they do to you but everyone else 🙏🏼 God Bless their Mother for NOT signing that case plan & sadly having to take her own life so her daughter wouldn’t suffer another day🙏🏼

Would like them to do a pt2.. The conclusion of Maya’s case obviously but also an exposé on the privatization of healthcare and the profits that are creating these sorts of situations. Privatization of the prison system in American is another one.. More prisoners, more money. The military industrial framework’s another.. More war means more bombs means more tax payers money 💰 Americans turned into one big racket!! It terrifying

You have to watch this. I am still completely shocked about what’s going on in America.

Thank you for shedding light on this. 🙏

I cried like a baby. Heartbreaking.

No mother or child should ever go through this.Shame on those doctors and nurses and corrupted healthcare system…heart breaking

Praying for this family and all the other families who suffered! May God bring them healing and no one else goes through this!

If my daughter was sick and the doctor came in and said I was a suspect and to leave that the state had custody, they better call swat. It’s not gonna be good. And I’m willing to die on that hill I stand on💯

First of all thank you for putting this documentary together. Horrible to see how the system braking up families. This happens every day. Every day children are placed out of of house. Because the child protection service think they can. Some parents can’t fight the system and ending up mental sick. Terrible. I hope many people see the documentary. And understand how things can end up. Be strong Maya

Very powerful documentary.if you are uncertain as to watch or not ..i say it needs to be watched by everybody .But be prepared to be angry and sad at the same time ..the simple fact that this family hashad no justice up to this point is just ridiculous.and the simple fact some of the people and judges in these cases are not in jail themselves is awful

I can’t stop crying!! Jesus!! What they did to the families is just pure evil. How could these demons still go on their day to day lives, knowing that they destroyed so many families

This hits home bcs I was a victim of the medical system myself, they denied me care and sent me in palliative care to *die there just bcs they couldn't put a diagnosis to what was happening to me. I flew to another country and saved my life but lost so much money, lost 2 years of my life in and out of hospitals , lost my social life and so on. I am perfectly healthy today but that time they just sent me home to *die.

This was one of the most heart breaking documentaries I have ever seen. I am a mother to a daughter who is Maya’s age. We had our run-ins with medical staff for various issues but ultimately the outcome was positive for us. I had no idea of the evil that could have happened. If the family reads this please know your story was sincerely tragic but has touched so many. I wish nothing but Justice for you all. Thank you to Netflix for highlighting such atrocities in our health”care” system. Godspeed.

I saw this the weekend it came out and i still havent been able to get it out of my mind. Many prayers go out to the family and their fight against the system right now

These corporations are out of control, and should be punished when they commit these crimes against humanity. From the FDA on down, they should be jailed when they commit these kind of crimes.

I’ve seen some multiple documentaries in my life but not one of them has had hit me as hard as this one… I am completely disgusted by how evil, manipulative and heartless people can be. I wish nothing but very bad things upon them!! … and I wish nothing but love, health and happiness for the Kowalski family. Beata is Maya’s guardian angel now 🪽 What a heartbreaking story…

I JUST finished watching this documentary with my mom a few seconds ago and i was sobbing HARD.

This happened to a man,in Florida same Hospital ,he was put in Jail for 70 years he accused of child abusing his son as a baby had a brittle bone disease which caused him broken bones,yes he is still in Jail in Florida I even spoke with his family member this isn't right at all ,I have been following Maya 's story Justice for them all

I'm absolutely devastated... I'm so sorry for her mother... on the other hand I'm so glad she's growing up so beautiful, strong and healthy. I just cried a lot, hope the responsible people pay for all the wrong. From 🇧🇷

My heart goes out to this family. A beautiful family at that. Im here in Florida waving a hand. Much love and respect to you guys. Stay strong.

Teary eyed while watching this documentary. The Doctor and her team should be held accountable for the death of the mother and the trauma it caused to the daughter. It’s just unbelievable…

I cried so much. 😢 so unfair all of my prayers to this family. Cant wait for the trail !!!! Blessings family 🙏🏼

be strong Maya & family 😢❤

unbelievable. the nurses and doctors should have their licenses taken away. the judge should be held responsible too. how can someone in the justice system lacks empathy? it was just a hug!!!

This case makes me so sad and angry at the same time. Having experienced health system's injustice where our whole family had to suffer I'm so sick of so many doctors' incompetence. There need to be more strict rules when finishing the medical educations. It's not enough as it is. There are too many people wanting to be doctors for so many wrong reasons. So many are not even close to recognising symptoms and being good at their job which can ruin people's lives even more than the actual illness. I wish Maya and her family to finally find peace and be able to move on as soon as possible. I felt so much pain while watching this that brought up all the bad experiences and memories we had to go through as a family...

I watched a few days ago and I cried like I have never cried with any documentary

This is insane 💔💔💔😭😭😭😭 I cried the whole time!!!!

I have just watched this Doku and I have just been tearing up. I am so Angry and shocked . How can we help this people? Someone say do something we will support.

Probably the saddest documentary that I have seen! I was crying all the time i feel so bad.

Reminded me of "Mrs Chattergee versus Norway". Privatised services with a vested financial interest to find fault when there is none.. Judges, Lawyers Doctors, Hospitals and Insurance Companies all in on it and are able to act with impunity. Clearly there are horrendous child abuse situations out there but there are also innocent parents who are seen as easy prey to make mega bucks from their fate in the hands of pretty unscrupulous people. Shocking beyond belief. I felt so sorry for the Kowalski family. I doubt if they will ever get justice.

This was the best documentary I've ever seen. One that will stay with me a long time. I wish the absolute best for Maya and her family and hope they are able to move on from this trauma. As for the hospital billing the insurance with the very diagnosis they were accusing the mother of lying about - I believe as long as the patient is classified as an inpatient (inpatient status in a hospital) they can bill "possible, probable, rule out, and differential" diagnoses as if they were final diagnoses or definitive diagnoses. This isn't the case for outpatient billing, only inpatient. Shouldn't be that way but it is.

$220M awarded to the Kowalski's today. Justice has been served.

Here after the verdict. It will never bring their mother back or take all of that pain and trauma away, but it certainly forces the hospital to take accountability.

This broke me. The secret filming and secret sweet message while filming destroyed me

I just finished watching this documentary and I am just speechless and what upsets me or I should say one of the many things that upset me is that the children services is privatized in Florida that is just Ludacris and it makes sense why they do what they do it’s all about money. May the mother rest in peace and hopefully Maya can grow up and try to have as best as a life as she possibly can.

Just finished watching this and my face hurts from crying through 85% of the documentary.

OmG! This documentary broke my heart. I felt Beata's frustration and Im sorry about what happened to her. Sooo heartbreaking..huggss to the Kowalkis.

I’ve heard this is really nicely done and impactful. Looks like it would be worth the watch

Watched the doc, maya looked very healthy and fit. That wasnt the case when moms still around.

I ended up just finishing this documentary. I watched it due to the 911 call that I saw in an instagram post and I was like, “what mom would do this?” Now, I totally understand where she was coming from. Such a tragic documentary, I can’t even believe it

I've experienced this. Oyr whole family is still traumatized from the experience

This documentary explains the definition of how this system failed us just to fulfil an agenda while we lost our humanity.

I watched the documentary, and I’ve been following the trial, and I got to tell you the family deserves every penny of that money. It’s very sad, when I watch the documentary, I was in tears it broke my heart. I’m a single dad with my son and I can’t imagine losing him or being without him. This really hit home for me.

(Possible) Unpopular opinion : the mom was extremely stressed out and as a person with background knowledge in medicine, her husband left it up to her to do a lot of the work. So because of that She had to bece decisive one, she had to become the “ pushy “ one in order to ensure the survival of her child. the dad did not help the situation when he was interviewed when describing what type of woman she was. He did not defend her as loving partner should.

I cried so many times watching this ,my heart aches for this family They may have lost a daughter/sister temporarily but they lost a mother/wife permanently

All of us who suffer from pain conditions or have our loved ones are told this. We finally give up and we end up dying or killing ourselves