$21M racial discrimination verdict against Seattle Children's stands

The Washington Court of Appeals on Tuesday unanimously affirmed the $21 million jury verdict awarded to Dr. Benjamin Danielson, who sued Seattle Children's hospital for creating a hostile work environment based on race.

Danielson, a Black doctor who led the hospital's Odessa Brown Children's Clinic as medical director for more than two decades, sued the hospital system in October 2023 after resigning in November 2020. At the time, he accused Seattle Children's of allowing institutional racism to persist for years and retaliating against him when he called attention to it.

The jury sided with Danielson in December 2024 after a 16-day trial and awarded him $21 million, which the hospital appealed.

"Today, the Court of Appeals affirmed what a jury of his peers already decided: the hospital must be held accountable," said Jennifer Bennett, Danielson's attorney, in a statement. Danielson currently works at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

In a statement, Seattle Children's spokesperson Sabrina Register said, "We are deeply disappointed by the court's decision but respect the judicial process."

"Seattle Children's will continue to remain fully focused on providing high-quality, compassionate and equitable care for the children and families relying on us," the statement said. "We thank Dr. Danielson for his years of service to the Seattle Children's community."

Danielson testified at trial that for 21 years, hospital employees doubted his intelligence and competence. He recounted his experience of needing to be "twice as good" as his white counterparts, and highlighted what he called the hospital's discriminatory treatment of patients of color, such as the disproportionate use of security against Black patients.

Danielson and other witnesses testified that Dr. Jim Hendricks, then-president of Seattle Children's Research Institute, used the n-word in reference to Danielson in 2007, and that the hospital did not address that even after it was reported to top hospital officials.

A three-judge panel in Seattle heard oral arguments from both sides in April.

Catherine Smith, an attorney representing Seattle Children's, argued Danielson's case was largely built on allegations of years of systemic racism at the hospital, rather than around incidents that happened to him directly - and therefore should not have resulted in a finding that the hospital violated the state's anti-discrimination law.

She also contended the specific racist incidents Danielson's lawsuit did note, including during his residency and the instance where Hendricks used the slur, happened outside the statute of limitations and should not have been considered as evidence.

The judges disagreed.

"Since we hold that the slur is a part of the same hostile work environment that continued until Danielson resigned in 2020, the slur is relevant to the hostile work environment claim," wrote Judge J. Michael Diaz in the court's opinion.

The judges found Danielson presented sufficient evidence of racially motivated workplace harassment to convince jurors, and that the $21 million verdict was "not flagrantly outrageous considering the length of time in the hostile work environment."

Seattle Children's will not appeal the decision, according to spokesperson Register.

Material from The Seattle Times archives was used in this report.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 4:50 PM.