NEWS ALERT: Sommers Schwartz, P.C., in Partnership with Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Bonanni & Rivers File First Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Systemic Sexual Abuse at Sinai-Grace Hospital
BY: Sommers Schwartz | IN: Sexual Assault
The case not only targets Figueroa-Berrios as an individual but also the hospital's corporate owners.
On Thursday, November 6, 2025, powerhouse sexual abuse attorneys Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller of Sommers Schwartz, and Megan Bonanni of Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Bonanni & Rivers, filed the first class action lawsuit against DMC Sinai Grace Hospital and their parent companies Tenet Healthcare, Inc., and VHS of Michigan, Inc., for their systemic failures that created the conditions that allowed nurse Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios to victimize and abuse vulnerable female patients for years at Sinai Grace Hospital. The class action complaint was filed in Wayne County Circuit Court.
The case not only targets Figueroa-Berrios as an individual but also the hospital’s corporate owners. “The complaint alleges that had Sinai-Grace Hospital taken their responsibility to ensure patient safety seriously—through proper background checks, appropriate training, meaningful supervision, and swift removal of dangerous personnel—these women would never have been in the same room as Berrios, where he used his position of power to violate them,” said Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller, senior partner at Sommers Schwartz. “As the first class action filed against both Berrios and Sinai-Grace Hospital, this lawsuit will open a path to justice for every patient who trusted these institutions with their care and were harmed as a result of their failures and actions.”
Attorneys Esser and Bonanni currently represent over a dozen women who have come forward with sexual abuse at the hands of Berrios. Their allegations include instances of groping, oral sex, nonconsensual and coerced sex, and sexual harassment. The women vary in ages and health. Some were co-workers of Berrios, others were patients in the Emergency Room, and some were patients who were admitted to Sinai Grace for other conditions only to have Berrios secretly enter their rooms to assault them.
“This class action will now protect all women who were assaulted by Berrios. However, it is still important that these survivors continue to come forward so that we can hear their stories and make sure their rights are protected,” said Megan Bonanni of Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Bonanni & Rivers. “If we don’t know about them, we can’t obtain justice for them,” Bonanni emphasized. “We are bringing these lawsuits under Jane Doe pseudonyms to protect the identities of these survivors and will work aggressively to obtain justice for them and to make sure Berrios is never allowed to assault another woman ever again.”
This case underscores broader concerns about patient safety and the responsibility of healthcare institutions to protect those in their care, particularly in facilities serving vulnerable populations. “When hospitals fail in their duty to properly vet, train, and supervise their staff, they must be held accountable for the devastating consequences that follow,” the attorneys said.
The litigation is ongoing, and the defendants have not yet responded to the complaint in court.
If you or someone you know was a patient at Sinai-Grace Hospital and experienced sexual abuse at the hands of Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios, please contact Lisa Esser or Megan Bonanni for a 100% free confidential consultation.
