A jury has awarded Dr. Benjamin Danielson $21 million in his discrimination lawsuit against Seattle Children’s Hospital. Danielson, who was the medical director at the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic before resigning in 2020, accused the hospital of fostering a culture of racism. In interviews after his resignation Danielson spoke out about discriminatory practices at the hospital.
Seattle Children’s Hospital, however, expressed disappointment with the verdict, releasing a statement that emphasized their commitment to providing equitable care for all children. The hospital’s statement said, “We are extremely disappointed in this extraordinary award and are evaluating our options, given the lack of evidence presented.”
Danielson’s legal team, from the firm Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, celebrated the verdict as a significant moment of accountability. “This is what a reckoning looks like,” they said in a statement, adding, “We are deeply grateful for the witnesses who spoke up, the community members who supported Dr. Danielson, and the jurors who performed their civic duty.”
The case stems from Danielson’s resignation in late 2020. As a respected pediatrician, he had worked at the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic for two decades, but he walked away after growing frustrated with what he saw as systemic racism within the organization. Danielson spoke out about racial disparities in healthcare, pointing to troubling national statistics—such as higher maternal and infant mortality rates for Black women and racial bias in pain management, particularly for Black children with conditions like appendicitis.
He accused Seattle Children’s of ignoring racism, citing the hospital’s overuse of security against Black families and a lack of language support for non-English speaking patients. Danielson also described a toxic work environment, where a colleague who had used racial slurs was later praised for diversity initiatives. This, along with a failure to investigate a 2009 racial slur incident, led him to resign in protest.
An independent report backed up many of Danielson’s claims, reinforcing the hospital’s failure to properly address racism within its ranks.
Since resigning, Danielson has continued his work in medicine, now teaching at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
