1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA CIVIL DIVISION JACK KOWALSKI, Individually and on behalf of his children, M.K., a minor, and K.K., a minor, and as Personal Representative of the Estate of BEATA KOWALSKI, Deceased, Plaintiffs, vs. JOHNS HOPKINS ALL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, INC.; JOHNS HOPKINS HEALTH SYSTEM CORPORATION, INC.; SUNCOAST CENTER, INC.; CATHERINE BEDY; and SALLY M. SMITH, M.D., Defendants. Case No. 2018-CA-005321-NC _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF: M.K. DATE: June 2, 2023 TIME: 8:36 a.m. to 9:17 a.m. PLACE: 2002 Ringling Boulevard Sarasota, Florida PURSUANT TO: Notice by counsel for Defendant Bedy for purposes of discovery, use at trial or such other purposes as are permitted under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure BEFORE: ALEXANDRIA WALLACE, RMR Notary Public, State of Florida at Large Pages 1 to 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 2 APPEARANCES: GREGORY A. ANDERSON, ESQUIRE NICHOLAS WHITNEY, ESQUIRE AndersonGlenn, LLP 10751 Deerwood Park Boulevard, Suite 105 Jacksonville, Florida 32256 (904) 273-4734 Attorneys for Plaintiffs ETHEN R. SHAPIRO, ESQUIRE Hill Ward Henderson 101 East Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 3700 Tampa, Florida 33602 (813) 221-3900 Attorney for Defendant JHACH PATRICIA D. CRAUWELS, ESQUIRE Eastmoore Crauwels & DuBose, P.A. 1626 Ringling Boulevard, Suite 300 Sarasota, Florida 34236 (941) 366-8888 Attorney for Defendant Catherine Bedy ALSO PRESENT: KASEY SURFACE, Videographer; SCOTT RICHARDS, plaintiff expert; TIM BREWERTON, plaintiff expert; JACK KOWALSKI, plaintiff; HONORABLE HUNTER CARROLL INDEX PAGE DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CRAUWELS 3 CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. SHAPIRO 27 CERTIFICATE OF OATH 32 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE 33 READ AND SIGN LETTER 34 ERRATA SHEET 35 EXHIBITS ID'd MARKED (None marked.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 3 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This marks the beginning of Media No. 1 in the deposition of M.K., a minor. We're on the record Friday, June 2nd, 2023, at 8:36 a.m. in the matter of Jack Kowalski, individually, on behalf of his children, M.K., a minor, K.K., a minor, as personal representative of the Estate of Beata Kowalski, deceased, plaintiffs, vs. Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Incorporated, et al., defendants, filed in the Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit in and for Sarasota County, Florida, Case No. 2018-CA-005321-NC. Will counsel please state who they represent, beginning with the plaintiff? MR. ANDERSON: Gregory Anderson, Nick Whitney on behalf of plaintiff, M.K. MR. SHAPIRO: This is Ethen Shapiro. I represent Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. MS. CRAUWELS: Pat Crauwels representing Catherine Bedy. THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Ms. Court Reporter. M.K., the witness herein, being first duly sworn on oath, was examined and deposed as follows: THE WITNESS: Yes. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CRAUWELS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 4 Q. Good morning. A. Good morning. Q. Can you hear me okay? A. Yes. Q. Can you go ahead and state your name for the record? A. M.K. Q. Is it okay if I call you M.K.? A. Yeah. Q. M.K., I want to talk with you about -- starting off with sort of the last year. Your last deposition was taken in May of 2022, and so I want to go forward from that date. A. Okay. Q. Now, if I ask you a question and you don't know if it was before or after May, we're not trying to make that such a hard line that you have to be sure if it was before or after May. So just -- you know, just do our best with dates and things of that sort. Okay? A. All right. Q. And you've been deposed, I know, several times. So if you -- I ask you a question -- if I ask you a question that you don't understand, please let me know so we can work together until we're communicating. All right? A. Okay. Q. All right. Did you review anything -- and I'm not 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 5 asking about conversations with your lawyers, but did you review anything in preparation for your deposition? A. No. I just talked to my lawyers. Q. Okay. Can you talk -- speak up just a little bit? A. Yeah -- no, I just talked to my lawyers, that's all. Q. Okay. All right. And are you -- or have you taken any medication today? A. Today, no. Q. Okay. Do you, as a general rule, take any medication? A. I take Claritin in the mornings. Q. Okay. A. Yeah. Q. Are you taking anything to help you sleep? A. I do have a sleeping medication, but I don't use it all the time because when I wake up in the morning, I'm even more tired. Q. Okay. Did you have -- did you have to use it last night? A. I did, yes. Q. Okay. But you feel okay and ready to testify? A. I'm a little bit tired, but I'm here to testify, yes. Q. Okay. All right. Let's talk about your school. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 6 My understanding is that you just finished your junior year; is that right? A. Correct. Q. And you're attached to Venice High School? A. I am, but I don't physically go to Venice High School; I do the dual-enrollment program. Q. And the dual-enrollment plan -- program is with State College of Florida? A. Correct. Q. Okay. A. There's different colleges you can go to, but that's the one I personally chose. Q. And are you actually going to any school at this point, or is it all virtual? A. It depends. So my first semester I was physically present in one of my classes, and then I took the other four online, and then the hurricane hit, and because of that, the building experienced some damage, so my class was moved to virtual. So for my second semester, I just stuck with all virtual classes. Q. All right. And can you tell me -- are all your classes at State College of Florida now? A. They -- yes. All five of them were at that college, yes. Q. Okay. And what classes did you take this past 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 7 year? A. I took -- well, it depends on if we're talking about first semester or second semester, because they all switched, but, in general, I took -- my first semester I took ENC1101, I took a history class, I took a getting ready for college class, I took a human body class, and then I took a math class. And then pretty much the same for the second semester, just my electives were different. I took the second part of the college strategies class, and then instead of human body, I took -- I'm trying to remember. I honestly don't recall off the top of my head, but it was pretty similar. Q. I didn't understand the first class. What did you call it? A. The college strategies class. Q. No. You said -- when you started your list, the first one was ANC or something -- A. Sorry. English. Q. English. Okay. And are you already enrolled for next year, then? A. Yes. Q. And what is the game plan? You're going to graduate at the end of next year? A. Yeah, that's the plan. I'm trying to get my associate's degree through SCF, that way I don't have to pay 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 8 for my associate's degree when I go to college. Q. And do you know what classes you're going to be taking next year? A. Next year, I did sign up for a few, but they're not all approved yet. So I'm just waiting on that. Q. What are the ones that you signed up for? A. I signed up for a bunch of electives. I don't remember the names of them, but I needed them, that way I can get my associate's degree because there's, like, certain things you have to check off, right. So I took a bunch of random ones. I took an English class and then a history class. No math. Q. You don't remember anything about the electives? You don't know the names of them? A. I really don't remember. I'm sorry. Q. That's okay. That's all right. So do you have -- right now, what are your thoughts about after you graduate, what are your plans? A. After I graduate, I definitely want to go to college. I'm not entirely sure which one. I still want to research before I say this is the one for me. I'm still looking, but my plans are to go to college, yes. Q. And do you know what kind of area of study you want to do? A. Not exactly sure yet, but I was thinking maybe 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 9 something like the psychiatry, counseling, or maybe something with, like, entertainment. Just something, you know, that makes me happy. Q. Are you still playing the piano? A. Not anymore. I don't take lessons from my piano teacher. I kind of stopped that. It was just a personal choice, but I still know how to play, I just don't regularly go down and sit and play. Q. Okay. So are -- you don't have any plans in music being part of your -- your -- either your college life or your future, as you sit here? A. No. Probably just for fun, but nothing professional. Q. Okay. Was there some issue with the teacher or you just -- what was the reason that you decided to stop? A. No reason. I just kind of decided it wasn't for me anymore. I wasn't enjoying it as much, so I just stopped. You know, we were paying for it, so if I'm not gaining anything from it, what's the point? Q. Okay. All right. And then what about ice skating, are you still taking lessons? A. No. Q. And when did that stop? Do you recall? A. I don't know which month, but I know it was sometime after my birthday. That's all I remember. I don't 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 10 remember, like, which month, though. Q. What month is your birthday? A. My birthday is in December. I think -- it was sometime after I turned 16, but I really don't remember, like, which month I stopped. Q. Okay. And what was the reason for no longer doing the coaching? A. My pain started to get worse, because I also work out, so in combination with the skating, it got too much for me. Q. Were you -- you have a driver's license, I understand? A. Correct. Yeah. Q. Were you driving yourself to the lessons? A. It depended on the day, but, yeah. I did sometimes; other days, my dad drove me. Q. Was there anything about the actual traffic and having to get there that did no longer fit in with your lifestyle as well or no? A. No. Traffic was okay. Q. Okay. Do you ice skate just for fun? A. I did, yeah. It was something that I enjoyed, and after I got released from Johns Hopkins and after I got proper treatment, which took a long time, I had the privilege in trying an activity that I enjoyed before I was sick. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 11 Q. But currently, I'm asking, do you still ice skate for fun? A. No. Q. So you haven't ice skated since your -- around your last birthday? A. It was, like, the -- it's weird because I don't remember exactly when I stopped, but I know that I started sometime after my 16th birthday. That's all I remember. I don't really remember which month I stopped, I just texted her and I said, you know, I'm experiencing some more pain than usual. I'm trying to make a smart choice here, and I'm going to terminate the lessons. Q. Okay. And I -- I'm -- I'm sure it's me, but I just got a little confused by your answer. You were ice skating and you stopped around your 16th birthday, is that correct, or you started around your 16th birthday? A. I started around my 16th birthday, like, but I don't remember the month I stopped. Q. Okay. How old are you now? A. I'm 17 now. Q. Okay. All right. All right. Have you taken any of the college tests, the SAT, the PSAT, those? A. I took the SAT when I was in seventh grade, and I think I took another free one, like, of the SAT. I've never taken the ACT. To the best of my knowledge, I've never taken 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 12 that, but that's about it. I actually never took the PSAT, only the actual SAT. Q. Okay. Are you plan- -- are you scheduled to take those? Do you plan on taking those this summer or -- A. I'm not scheduled yet, but I do plan on taking those soon, yes. Q. And how -- what were your grades this past year? A. My grades? All As and Bs. Mostly As. I got one B in one of my classes just because I did bad on one test, but it is what it is. Q. With the dual-enrollment -- so even though your classes are at State College of Florida, are you still -- you're still considered part of the Venice High School class? A. Yes. Q. Okay. And do you know your current class ranking? A. I do not know. Q. Okay. At one time I think you were first or second; is that correct? A. Yeah. That sounds about right. Q. Okay. Do you think you're still in that area? A. I would say I'm somewhere close to that area, but, like I said, I just got a B, so I don't -- it probably dragged it down a little bit. Q. I would give yourself a break. It's okay. It's okay to get a B. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 13 Okay. This past year, have you done any type of traveling? A. I went to New York, but I don't think -- oh, I went to The Keys with my friend. Other than that, I can't remember anything else. Q. Okay. Well, let's talk about the trip to The Keys. Who did you go with? A. I went with my best friend and her parents. Q. And what's her name? A. Her name's Megan. Q. What's her last name? A. Conway. Q. Okay. So you went with Megan Conway and her parents? A. Uh-huh. (Indicates affirmatively). Q. "Yes"? A. Yes. Q. And how did you get to The Keys? A. Her dad drove. Q. And how long were you there? A. I was there for two or three days. It wasn't a long trip. Q. And what activities did you do while you were there? A. I kind of just swam -- stayed at a hotel, so they 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 14 had a pool, and then it was close to the water, so we swam in the water, kind of just hung out. Q. Okay. Did they have a boat for their use? A. We did go on a boat. We actually went to the coral reef there at the John Pennekamp. We -- the water was freezing, so I'm going to be honest, I didn't swim much, but we looked around. And when we went onto the water, we took a boat, but we weren't driving it or anything. It was, like, a charter situation. Q. Okay. All right. And then you said you went to New York? A. Yeah. Q. And what was the reason for that trip? A. It was kind of just to, like, meet up with some people. They're -- kind of just hung out there. We did some, like, sightseeing things, stuff like that. Q. Who went on the New York trip? A. My dad, my brother, and I. Q. And what people did you meet up with? A. We met up with a journalist there, just to chat about the movie coming up. Q. And did you -- do you know if -- and this is the Netflix movie we're talking about? A. Correct. Q. And do you know if Netflix paid for you to go to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 15 New York? A. I'm going to be honest, I really don't know. I'm not involved in my family's finances, I'm only 17, but maybe my dad would know. Q. Okay. That's all right. A. Sorry. Q. When was -- when was the trip to New York? A. About, like, a month or two ago. I really don't remember the dates. I'm not really good with dates. Q. Okay. Well, was it -- do you think it was -- it was -- A. It was fairly recent, yeah. Q. -- April or May? A. Yeah, that sounds about right. Q. And how long were you there? A. It was a few days. It also wasn't super long. I want to say three, four days. Q. Did you get to do anything fun while you were in New York? A. Yeah. We walked around a lot. There was a Starbucks; I went there every day. I'm trying to think. I went to a few parks, and then there was some colleges. I didn't physically go in, but I kind of looked at them and talked about them to some people. Q. Okay. All right. And how long did you meet with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 16 the journalist? A. I think it was only, like, one day that I, like, really sat down and talked to her, but I did, like, see her throughout the rest of the trip, but it wasn't in reference to the movie at all. Q. The journalist you met with, is she connected with the movie, or is she separate? A. She's connected, yes. Q. Okay. So was she employed by Netflix, if you know? A. I don't think so, but I -- yeah, I really don't know. Q. Okay. All right. Did you also go to Chicago with your cousin? A. No. She came here. Q. Okay. So if your dad said that you went to Chicago with your cousin, he just got that mixed up? A. Well, I did go visit her, but it was, like, not within the last year. Q. Okay. He just has the date wrong? A. Yes. Q. Okay. Fair enough. All right. Can you go ahead and tell me what your current exercise routine is? A. Yeah. Normally I go to the gym whenever I feel, like, physically capable of doing so, if I'm not too weak or 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 17 too sore, but when I do go, I normally walk on the treadmill for, like, 30 minutes, and then if I'm feeling up to it, I'll do some weighted exercises, but I'm not very good at lifting weights, so maybe, like, 10, 20 minutes of that and I go home. Q. And I'm -- and how often do you do that? A. It really depends on how I'm feeling on that day or week or whatever, but I do try to go at least, like, five times a week. Q. And what's the name of the gym? A. I used to go to Planet Fitness, and now I go to EOS, I go to community gyms with my friends. Sometimes I still go to Planet Fitness because I like the free summer program right now, but I did cancel my membership there. Q. What was the first one, EOS? A. Yeah, it's in Sarasota. Q. Is that the whole name, EOS? A. Yeah, it's, like, the letters EOS, that's it. Q. Okay. A. Some people pronounce it EOS, but I say EOS. Q. Okay. All right. All right. What -- this past year with school, did you participate in any type of clubs or organizations? A. No. Because I didn't go to Venice High physically, I didn't really have the opportunity to sign up for student 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 18 government or stuff like that, but I did focus on school mainly. That was, like, what I was really concerned about because it's, like, my first year trying this college program, so I didn't want to distribute, like, all my energy into other clubs when I should really be focusing on school. Q. Is the plan -- if you know, is the plan next year to continue virtual, or are you planning on going actually to the campus? A. I think -- I did sign up for virtual classes because I'm unsure -- with, like, the trial and everything, I didn't want to go physically to school and have that interfere with the trial, so I did sign up for all virtual. And -- but the second semester, I will see what happens and then I can decide. Q. What are your plans for this summer? A. This summer? I really don't have many. I think I would just like to go to the beach, stuff like that, simple things. Q. Are you currently employed? A. No. Not currently. Q. Was Cracker Barrel your last job? A. Yes. Q. Are you planning on looking for any type of employment? A. Maybe. I might. If my friends -- like, two of my 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 19 friends are thinking about getting a job, so I might go work with them, but I would -- I don't know. I'm trying to focus on the trial right now and everything, so -- and my health, so we'll see. Q. When you say you might join them, what type of job are they planning on doing? A. One of them was thinking of life guarding at the YMCA, and then another one of them wanted to work as a server at, like, Gecko's. Q. Do you have any plans to travel at all this summer? A. Yeah. I'm going to New York again. Q. That's for the premiere of the film? A. Yes. Q. And who else is going? A. My dad, my brother, my sister, and my boyfriend. Q. What is your boyfriend's name? A. John Luke. Q. What's his last name? A. Volpe. Q. Can you spell that? A. V-o-l-p-e. Q. And how long have you and John Luke been a couple? A. A year. Q. And where is John Luke in school? A. He goes to Venice High. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAROLYN LOUDEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. (813) 222-4545 20 Q. Is he also finishing his junior year? A. Correct. Q. So tell me what types of activities you and John Luke do. A. We kind of just, again, like, hang out. I usually go to his house. He has a younger brother, but close to our age, he's 16 -- well, almost -- no, he just turned 16. My bad. So we like to hang out with him. We play video games. I got him a PS5 for his Christmas gift, so we'll go into, like, this not play area, but that's basically what it is. It's like the retired play area. We set up the TVs and play like Astro's Playground or they like their shooting games. I'm not really good at those, but I'll watch. Q. Do you guys go on day dates to dinner or -- A. Yeah. Actually, we go -- actually, in this area we go out to dinner sometimes. Not, like, regularly, but every once in a while we'll come down here -- or up here, rather, for me, but for him, down. Q. What are the plans, if you know, for when you go to the premiere in New York? A. I don't think any are set. I really don't know. I just know we're going. I know that we're staying at a certain hotel and are going to watch the movie, but that's all I know. I don't really know any of the other plans. Q. In this past year, have you had any medical events