Seattle Children’s loses appeal of $21M jury verdict in racial discrimination case

Seattle Children’s Hospital lost its appeal of the jury verdict awarding Dr. Ben Danielson $21 million for working in a hostile work environment.   

The Washington State Court of Appeals made its ruling on May 26. 

The appellate court found that there was substantial evidence for a reasonable juror to conclude that Danielson, an African American physician, faced a racially hostile work environment and was demoted after pushing back against institutional budgeting decisions. 

From 1999 to 2020, Danielson worked as medical director of the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, a satellite clinic of Seattle Children’s Hospital, which served predominantly African American patients. He resigned in 2020 and accused the hospital of systemic racism. 

WSNA was among the organizations and individuals who voiced support for Danielson at the time of his resignation, and members — especially at Seattle Children’s — have been vocal in their support for Danielson throughout the legal process. 

After a 16-day trial, the jury returned a verdict that Seattle Children’s had created a hostile work environment based on race and awarded $21 million to Danielson in December 2024. 

The appellate court upheld the jury’s verdict and award.  

“Substantial evidence supports the jury’s award,” the appellate court ruled. “Danielson worked for 21 years in what the jury determined to be a hostile work environment… The amount is not flagrantly outrageous considering the length of time in the hostile work environment.” 

At his December trial, Danielson presented evidence of the racism he personally faced, as well as evidence of systemic racism affecting both patients and employees of the hospital, including calling security disproportionately on Black families and employees of color across the board receiving lower performance reviews than their white peers. 

The hospital argued that Danielson’s allegations of systemic racism should not have been considered evidence that Seattle Children’s violated the state’s anti-discrimination law because they did not happen to him directly.  

The appellate court disagreed, stating that Danielson provided substantial evidence of a hostile work environment by describing how employees treated him individually.