Stuart Moulder filed the lawsuit Wednesday. It says city officials knew the time the alleged attacker, Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi, said he would return to Ward 86, an HIV/AIDS clinic where Rangel worked. The suit seeks a jury trial and changes to security procedures.

“Alberto’s death wasn’t the result of a single breakdown in security,” Nick Casper, Moulder’s attorney, wrote in a statement. He said the killing followed years of inadequate protections and warnings that went unheeded.

Moulder submitted a claim for damages to the city on May 28, 2026. The city denied it July 30, according to the lawsuit. The case has not yet been scheduled. A spokesperson for the city attorney’s office said the city would review the suit and respond in court, and expressed condolences to Rangel’s loved ones.

Rangel, 51, had worked at San Francisco General for five years. He was attacked on Dec. 4, 2025, and died two days later. The lawsuit says Tortolero Arriechi came to Ward 86 around 11 a.m. that day, behaving erratically and asking to see a doctor. Before leaving, he allegedly told staff he would return at 1 p.m.

The suit says Basil Price, the Department of Public Health’s security director, received calls and emails from staff at Ward 86 and another clinic about Tortolero Arriechi’s behavior. Price allegedly told staff the city would take reasonable steps to protect them. At 12:28 p.m., he called the sheriff’s office and requested support, identifying Tortolero Arriechi, according to the filing.

A sheriff’s deputy arrived at Ward 86 around 1 p.m. The lawsuit alleges that Tortolero Arriechi returned about 1:30 p.m. and stabbed Rangel with a kitchen knife as Rangel walked with him toward the elevators. The deputy was down a hallway and out of sight of the clinic’s reception desk and elevators, the suit says.

The sheriff’s office has said the deputy was positioned near the doctor Tortolero Arriechi had been seeking and responded to the attack immediately. Witness accounts and a later Department of Public Health audit said hospital staff intervened to pull the attacker off Rangel. The deputy detained him after he dropped the knife, according to witnesses cited in prior reporting.

Rangel’s heart stopped after the attack, but colleagues restarted it and kept him stable until emergency responders arrived, the suit says. It alleges that oxygen deprivation led to strokes that ultimately caused his death. Tortolero Arriechi pleaded not guilty on Jan. 7, 2026.

The case comes amid longstanding concerns from hospital workers about violence and security. San Francisco General recorded 51 reported violent incidents in October 2025, up from 32 in October 2024, according to figures cited in the lawsuit coverage. Workers had previously sought measures including weapons screening and more security staff.

Since Rangel’s death, the city has announced weapons screening for hospital visitors and increased deputy presence at city health centers. Cal/OSHA cited security failures in 2020 after an emergency-room nurse was assaulted and fined the city more than $26,000. After Rangel’s death, the agency issued San Francisco General seven violations, six classified as serious, and imposed a $130,500 fine.