BOTHELL, Wash. — A Bothell family says they are “relieved” after a judge denied a motion by Seattle Children’s Hospital to have the family’s racism-based lawsuit dismissed.
Dr. Anapathur and Nalini Ramesh, who are of South Asian descent, allege in their complaint filed in November 2023 that racism played a part in the death of their 16-year-old Sahana.
The decision by Judge Elizabeth Berns of the King County Superior Court paves the way for the family to pursue the specific claim that they and their child suffered from discrimination based on race at Children’s.
“We are relieved,” said Nalini Ramesh, Sahana's mother. “The judge made a good call. It was the right decision. She did right by the law and our child.”
In November 2020 Seattle Children’s doctors diagnosed Sahana with a serious disease called DRESS – a severe reaction to a medication. Medical records show over the next 11 weeks the family reached out to Children’s repeatedly for help, but the family said they didn’t think their concerns were taken seriously. In addition to many regularly scheduled appointments in that timeframe, records show the parents made 42 other contacts that included emails, voicemails and four trips to the emergency department.
“Now I want to know what was not done for her that was done for the other children,” Ramesh said.
Three months after the diagnosis, Sahana died from heart failure in front of her entire family. Doctors at Children’s had written in Sahana’s chart that DRESS could cause myocarditis, heart failure, and was potentially “life threatening” – but they didn’t monitor her heart for myocarditis and never admitted her to the hospital.
“’Why was she just sent home each time? What were the standards for admitting patients? How was it different for Sahana? How was it different for other kinds of folks?’” Ramesh said.
At the same time Sahana was being treated by Children’s, hospital administrators publicly admitted it had a serious cultural problem with racism. The hospital spent $1 million on an internal review that found the hospital was “enabling and perpetuating systemic racism.” The review also found hospital employees believed implicit bias led to white patients receiving a higher level of care compared with children of other races.
“A widespread perception exists among the Seattle Children’s workforce that patients receive disparate treatment on the basis of race or ethnicity,” wrote the authors of the review.
“Meaningful culture change cannot happen overnight, but we promise to act with great urgency. We acknowledge Seattle Children’s had not lived up to its promise and commitment to our community,” wrote CEO Dr. Jeff Sperring in September 2021.
Seattle Children’s declined an interview for this report but in a statement said they work to treat all patients with great care.
“Seattle Children’s is committed to providing equitable, high-quality care to every child who needs us, and our hearts go out to any family facing a loss. Our providers care for some of the most complex pediatric cases in the region and we strive to deliver the best possible experience and outcomes that patient families and the community we serve expect from us,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement.
Court records in the Ramesh lawsuit show Seattle Children’s has treated approximately two dozen other children with DRESS in the last five years and that 60% of those patients were admitted to the hospital. Attorneys for the hospital have declined to turn over documents to show the racial makeup of the patients, and the care they received. The family is hoping the judge’s latest decision will clear a path to compel the hospital to disclose the records.
“I want to know ‘How many children? What were their races. Why? What was the difference in the treatment?’ I’m not going to stop. I need all the answers, I’m not going to stop,” Sahana's mother Ramesh said. “When it comes to children’s health, there should be no sacred cows.”