Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office expected to reopen case on patient who assaulted nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital

A day after a nurse shared her story of being brutally attacked by one of her patients at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is now expected to reopen the case against her alleged attacker after dropping the initial charges.

Yanira Eguileor, a registered nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital, told 7News she was viciously attacked by a rampaging patient at the hospital’s emergency room on May 30.

“He started punching me in the back of the head,” said Eguileor.

7News shared her story on Thursday after she filed a lawsuit against the hospital for failing to protect their staff. On Friday, she’s now learned the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office plans to reopen the case against her alleged attacker.

Eguileor said there was no sign of security in the area as the assault occurred.

“Doctors and registration people and other coworkers were taking him off of me. I didn’t see security anywhere,” said Eguileor.

Alongside her attorney Michael Pizzi, is seeking $5 million for the suffering caused by the attack and the hospital’s inadequate security.

“Jackson Memorial Hospital did not provide any security whatsoever,” said Pizzi.

She suffered multiple injuries as a result.

“They took me to have CTs of my brain, my neck, my spine,” said Eguileor.

The hospital said it won’t comment on the allegations to be litigated, adding in a statement:

“We have four dedicated Jackson Public Safety Specialists assigned to the Jackson Memorial Emergency Room 24 hours a day, seven days a week – including the date of this incident. In addition, we have two off-duty Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies on campus at all times.”

The arrested patient, Rubin Wenyou, was Baker Acted due to mental health concerns. His felony battery charge in the incident was dropped on July 2.

“You blew it,” said Pizzi, in a message to prosecutors on Thursday.

He said prosecutors didn’t initially interview any of the victims in the incident.

“Your job is to meet with the victim and talk to her,” said Pizzi.

A spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office said when they attempted to reach out to the victims, the “victims provided the exact same phone number and address, which belongs to Jackson Memorial Hospital.”

Since the victims couldn’t be reached, they ultimately dismissed the case against Wenyou.

Pizzi pleaded with Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to override that decision and reopen the case against Wenyou on Thursday.

Late Friday afternoon, her office told 7News that prosecutors have now interviewed Aguileor and intend to re-file criminal charges against Wenyou.

In the meantime, Wenyou remains in custody due to a pending case involving a battery arrest on a law enforcement officer in a separate 2024 incident. He also had an unpaid court date hold and a warrant for his arrest.