New Lawsuits Expose Potentially Alarming Failures at Sinai-Grace Hospital After Nurse Sexual Assault Allegations

Detroit’s Sinai-Grace Hospital is once again under scrutiny after multiple lawsuits were filed this week following sexual assault charges against a former nurse.

These disturbing allegations have sent shockwaves through the community — and raised serious questions about hospital accountability and patient safety.

If you or someone you love was harmed, you have rights. You are not alone — and it’s important to understand what’s happening and how to protect yourself.

What We Know So Far about the Sexual Abuse by Nurse Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios

According to recent reports from ClickOnDetroit, FOX 2 Detroit, and CBS News Detroit:

• Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Sinai-Grace Hospital and its parent company Tenet Healthcare, alleging they failed to protect patients from a nurse accused of multiple sexual assaults.
• The nurse, Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios, age 47, has been criminally charged in connection with assaults on at least two women, including a patient under his care at Sinai-Grace on August 12, 2025.
• Prosecutors say he also assaulted a 41-year-old woman in a porta-potty outside Grand Circus Park in May of this year.
• Following the August incident, Figueroa-Berrios was arraigned and released on a $100,000 bond, with a GPS tether and a curfew.
• Since the charges were announced, seven additional victims have reportedly come forward to law enforcement.
• Plaintiffs allege the hospital ignored red flags, failed to investigate complaints, and allowed the nurse continued access to vulnerable patients even after misconduct concerns arose.
• Sinai-Grace and Tenet have issued public statements claiming they prioritize patient safety, asserting that Figueroa-Berrios passed standard background checks and was terminated immediately once allegations surfaced.

Hospital Responsibility: What Should Have Happened?

When patients enter a hospital, they place complete trust in the healthcare providers caring for them. That trust includes trusting hospitals have taken reasonable steps to ensure that staff have passed background checks, have been properly trained, and are being supervised.

Hospitals and healthcare systems can be held liable under theories such as:

• Negligent Hiring or Retention – failing to conduct proper background checks or ignoring prior misconduct.
• Negligent Supervision – allowing unsupervised access to patients despite warning signs of abuse and/or other inappropriate behavior.
• Institutional Negligence – failing to create or enforce policies that prevent sexual abuse.
• Failure to Protect Vulnerable Adults or Patients – when a patient’s incapacity or medical condition makes them particularly at risk.

The Sinai-Grace lawsuits claim that hospital administrators failed in all of these areas — and that their systemic negligence allowed a predator to harm multiple patients within a supposed place of healing.

For Survivors: You Have Rights and Options

If you suspect you were assaulted or touched inappropriately by this nurse, you are not alone — and you have options to obtain justice and compensation.

Here’s what survivors should know:

• You do not need a criminal conviction to pursue a civil lawsuit. The civil standard of proof is lower and focuses on accountability and compensation.
• Your identity can remain confidential. Many cases are filed using pseudonyms like Jane Doe to protect privacy.
• Act quickly. Evidence such as hospital records, surveillance footage, and staff schedules can disappear fast — early legal intervention helps preserve key proof.
• Even if you are unsure whether what happened “counts” as assault, it’s important to speak with a trauma-informed attorney who understands both the legal and emotional realities of these cases.

A Message to Survivors: You Deserve Justice

What happened at Sinai-Grace is heartbreaking — but it’s also a call for change.

As an attorney who has represented hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse across Michigan and the United States, including cases against powerful institutions like universities and healthcare systems, I know how hard it is to come forward.

You deserve to be heard, believed, and supported — and to hold those responsible fully accountable.

If you believe you were sexually assaulted by Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios or experienced inappropriate conduct at Sinai-Grace Hospital, Trinity Health, or any other Michigan medical facility please contact attorney Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller for a confidential, no-obligation consultation. The consultation is 100% free and you will never pay anything unless we recover for you. We will protect your privacy.