Hospital employee wins verdict after he was fired over ‘biased’ investigation

A longtime employee of Children’s Mercy Hospital was fired after an investigation into sexual harassment claims made against him. His attorney said the investigation was biased and racially motivated. A Jackson County jury agreed.

Brianne Thomas, an attorney with Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish in Independence, represented Sal Madge and said the investigation was biased and HR had a motive to fire her client because he was black.

The investigation began after Madge was accused of sexual harassment by five women, she said.

“It all started from a happy hour (…) in 2023. There were some allegations that he made some inappropriate comments about why someone didn’t get a job. He denied those allegations, but that is what launched a sweeping investigation into Mr. Madge,” Thomas said. “We alleged at trial (…) that the investigation was very one sided, that it was racially motivated and our client, Sal Madge, is a Black man and the HR investigator was a white woman, and she initiated contact with other women and basically sought out evidence that helped her prove her case, as opposed to being kind of neutral and independent.”

Ultimately, there were seven female accusers who alleged Madge made inappropriate comments to them. Madge denied the accusations.

Though HR conducted a 29-day investigation into the matter, Madge was fired on the same day he was told of the investigation. Madge was not able to present evidence in his favor before he was fired. Thomas added that HR did not know that some of the women had been drinking or on drugs when they made their statements and did not examine text messages or discrepancies in their stories.

At a five-day trial Thomas called some of the women forward to show they weren’t afraid of the testimony and called witnesses who testified to Madge’s 17 years with the hospital.

The jury awarded $161,500 in back pay, $100,000 for non-economic damages and $1,000,000 punitive damages.

The hospital’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

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Amount of verdict, judgment or settlement: $1,261,500

Type of action: Other/verdict for plaintiff

Breakdown: $161,500.00 back pay
$100,000.00 non-economic damages
$1,000,000.00 punitive damages

Venue: Jackson County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 2416-CV10391/10/24/2025

Judge: Bryan Round

Injuries: Job loss

Last Pretrial Demand: $300,000

Last Pretrial Offer: $5,000

Caption: Sal Madge v. Children’s Mercy Hospital

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Brianne N. Thomas of Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish in Independence, Missouri & Shaun Stallworth of Holman Schiavone in Kansas City, Missouri.

Defendants’ Attorneys: Tim Hilton & Michaeli Hennessy of Husch Blackwell in Kansas City, Missouri.