Glendale nursing facility faces suit

An 88-year-old woman filed an elder-abuse lawsuit against the operators of a Glendale nursing facility, claiming that the staff failed to provide adequate care which caused her to fracture her leg and suffer a preventable infection, court records show.

After the woman, identified in the lawsuit as Bettye Price, was admitted to the Leisure Glen Post Acute Care Center — operated by BV General, Inc. and Healthcare Management Services — in July to recuperate from a knee and leg surgery, the facility failed to implement a proper care plan, which landed her in the hospital two additional times, according to the lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court.

According the lawsuit, the staff at the facility was advised that Price had “a propensity to wander, was a high risk to suffer further falls, and therefore required special care and assistance including 24-hour supervision.”

Kathleen Walker, an attorney for Leisure Glen, said her client had not yet been served with the lawsuit and could not comment on pending litigation. She also cited patient confidentiality laws that preclude disclosure of an individual’s private personal healthcare information but noted the facility has served the local community for 52 years.

The lawsuit stated that the facility was understaffed, and the workers were not adequately trained because the operators were “focused on unlawfully increasing the earnings in the operation…as opposed to providing the legally mandated minimum care” for residents, which led to Price’s injuries.

Specifically, the lawsuit refers to an August incident in which Price was allegedly being rushed back to her room in a wheelchair by a “poorly trained and overworked” caregiver, when Price’s foot caught on the carpet while the caregiver continued to push, causing Price’s leg to be “run over and literally snap under the force.” She reportedly underwent surgery for the injury and was transferred back to the facility to recuperate later that month.

The lawsuit alleged that the facility was also advised of Price’s history of painful and dangerous urinary tract infections, but failed to notice her symptoms while she was recuperating from her second surgery, which caused her to endure more than 50 hours of ignored pain before she was transported to the hospital.

It was reportedly determined that Price had a severe infection that spread throughout her system, “requiring days of hospitalization and treatment,” the lawsuit stated.

Price’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

The lawsuit lists four causes of action, including elder abuse, negligence, negligent hiring and supervision and fraud.

A hearing on the matter is slated to take place in March.