Glendale, California

Welcome to the Glendale website for Los Angeles elder abuse attorney Ben Yeroushalmi. Here at the Law Offices of Ben Yeroushalmi, we are dedicated to protecting the rights of the elderly. As specialists in elder abuse litigation, we have created this webpage to raise awareness on the dangers of nursing home neglect. We can only hope that by being aware of these egregious crimes, you and your loved one can avoid the suffering that is far too common among the elderly population in today's times.

Glendale was incorporated in 1906 and today is the third largest city in Los Angeles County. With respect to the California coast, Glendale lies inland, at the Eastern end of the San Fernando Valley. In its early days of development, the Grand Central Airport was an employer for a large portion of the city's citizens. Charles Lindbergh, famous for completing the first commercial transcontinental flight, actually departed from the Grand Central Airport. With the opening of the Glendale Galleria mall in 1976, the city became a center for tourism. The city is also an industrial powerhouse, as home to the corporate offices of many large companies including DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Company, Nestle, the International House of Pancakes, and Nero. As of the 2010, the city's population was recorded at 191,719. Glendale is home to thirteen Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Due to a number of risk factors, infections are quite common in nursing homes. While nursing home residents are far more susceptible to infectious diseases because of their increased age, weakened immune systems, and underlying chronic diseases, it is also more difficult to diagnose and treat the elderly because of their frailty. Common infections in nursing homes include urinary tract infections, skin and soft tissue infections such as pressure ulcers, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), scabies, Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), and sepsis. According to a recent study, approximately 15% of all nursing homes in the U.S. received citations for deficient infection control from 2000 to 2007. Before choosing a nursing home for your loved one, make sure to check the facility for deficiencies.

Nursing homes need to ensure that their staff is educated in preventative measures. In the case that an outbreak does occur, nurses must be trained to identify symptoms and properly diagnose infectious diseases, and then follow infection control guidelines. The concern with infection control presents not only the issue of quality of care, but also that of adequate staffing. When a facility is understaffed, the risk of infection spreading increases exponentially. Perhaps the simplest, yet most crucial step in taking preventative measures is hand-washing. In Leapfrog Group's ranking of the top hospitals in 2011, nursing staff hand hygiene was cited as one of the most important factors being taken into consideration. Unfortunately, when a facility is inadequately staffed, nurses often forget or neglect to follow infection control guidelines, and skip certain steps, such as washing their hands.

If your loved one has suffered serious or life-threatening infection in a skilled nursing facility, and you believe it was due to neglect, please contact us today to see how we can help your loved one receive the care to which he or she is entitled. If you cannot come in to our office for your free consultation, we will gladly come to you.