Los Altos, California

This is the webpage for the city of Los Altos designed by The Law Offices of Ben Yeroushalmi, where victims of Elder Abuse receive the most vigorous representation possible. Our specialized attorneys empathize with Nursing Home Residents that have been mistreated and neglected. We are committed to righting the wrongs you or your loved ones may have suffered at the hands of a Skilled Nursing Facility. Obtaining the justice and restitution that you and your loved ones are entitled to is our first and foremost priority.

The city of Los Altos is located in Santa Clara County at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area. Regarded as a commuter town for San Francisco, it was once mainly agricultural with summer cottages and apricot orchards filling up the landscape. Forbes has identified 2 zip codes (94022 and 94024) as one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S., with the median house valued at upwards of $2,500,000. There are currently 2 Skilled Nursing Facilities located in Los Altos, which means “The Heights” in English.

Every resident is admitted into a Nursing Home with inherent rights. These Patient Rights are protected by 1430(b) of the California Health and Safety Code and as such, are enforceable by law. Perhaps one of the most egregious violations of the Patients’ rights is the practice of restraining a patient, both physically and mentally, for unnecessary reasons. Sometimes, the measured restraint of a patient is necessary, for example if the patient poses a risk to themselves or others and it is for the patients’ safety. But there are other times when a patient is restrained out of utility for the Skilled Nursing Facility. This abhorrent practice is unfortunately all too common in understaffed Nursing Homes that desire a convenient way to implement care taking procedures while incurring minimal costs.

Restraints can be crude and physical in nature, or in a more sophisticated chemical form. Restraints of a chemical sort are more difficult to trace because they are guised in the form of medications administered to the resident for existing diagnoses. However, the overuse of medications for off-label purposes, or polypharmacy, is a sign of neglect and can lead to many harmful sideffects such as serotonin syndrome, falls, hypnatremia, delirium, gastrointestinal bleeding, and osteoporosis. The practice of polypharmacy is usually prevalent among residents suffering from dementia and are particularly administered excessive amounts of anti-psychotic drugs. Ironically, these drugs are used for the purposes of calming aggravated patients, but one of the side effects of this medication is delirium which can trigger symptoms of dementia. So in essence, this process is a cycle of dangerous overmedication and a lack of direct care. It is therefore a violation of the Patients’ Rights.

The practice of physically or chemically restraining a resident of a Nursing Home should only be performed in narrow cases where it is determined that the use of restraints is for the medical benefit of the patient. Restraining a patient for reasons of understaffing, convenience, or practicality is an affront to the dignity and freedom of that resident; and as such, it should not be tolerated by you or your loved ones. At the Law Offices of Ben Yeroushalmi, we are dedicated to upholding the Patients’ Rights and deterring the perpetrators of this abhorrent practice. Our attorneys have had more than 16 years of experience in trying and winning cases of Nursing Home Neglect and Elder Abuse. Let us help you get the restitution that you and your family deserves; Call us today for a free consultation.

Directions to Our Office:

Head north on N. San Antonio toward Sylvian Way. Slight right to merge onto US-101N toward San Francisco. Take exit 404A for Willow Rd. E. Merge onto CA-114N/Willow Rd. Turn right onto CA-84E. Continue onto Decoto Rd. Take the Interstate 880N- ramp to Oakland. Merge onto I-880N. Slight right onto I-980E. Take exit 1A for 11th St. toward 14th St. Merge onto Castro St. Turn right onto 14th St. Take the 3rd right onto Clay St. Arrive at 1300 Clay St. #600 Oakland, CA 94612 on your left side.