DETROIT (WWJ) -- Detroit Medical Center leaders say they took “immediate action” once allegations surfaced against disgraced nurse Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios of Wayne, who’s now facing multiple sexual assault charges.
But attorneys for the victims argue that Detroit Sinai-Grace Hospital and its parent company, Tenet Healthcare, looked the other way, ignoring red flags and hiring a man with a documented history of violence and prior sex abuse allegations.
Attorney James Harrington of Fieger Law, which is representing the victims in a new lawsuit filed against the DMC, says his clients deserve justice.
"When something like this happens, I think it rocks our community at the core," Harrington said, at a news conference Wednesday.
"...We're here to hold them accountable, to give our clients their day in court, to give our clients their day to justice, and make sure that something like this never, ever happens again."
The $100 million lawsuit claims the hospital allowed Figueroa-Berrios unsupervised access to vulnerable patients — despite allegedly knowing about his past — failed to protect patients, and even punished some who reported the now=former nurse's behavior.
Harrington said there could be hundreds of victims.
This is the second civil lawsuit filed against Sinai-Grace and the former nurse. The other was filed by Flood Law last week.
Responding to a request for comment on the latest suit on Wednesday, the DMC issued the following statement:
Figueroa-Berrios, 47, has been charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the assault of a 31-year-old woman. He's accused of sexually assaulting the woman when she was a patient at Sinai-Grace Hospital, where he worked as a nurse, on Aug. 12.
In two other cases, Figueroa-Berrios stands accused of assaulting a 49-year-old hospital patient on Aug. 18, and a woman at a porta-potty in a Detroit park in May.
Figueroa-Berrios is due back in criminal court next week, as more alleged victims continue to come forward.