Every day, seniors across Fresno suffer abuse and neglect at the hands of those entrusted with their care. Our former defense attorneys know how facilities hide the truth — and we use that knowledge to fight for your family.
Fresno is the largest city in California's Central Valley and the fifth-largest in the state, home to roughly 545,000 residents — including an estimated 70,000 seniors aged 65 and older. With over 35 licensed skilled nursing facilities and numerous assisted living and residential care homes spread across the city, Fresno's elder care landscape is shaped by the unique economic and environmental realities of the agricultural heartland. The extreme summer heat that regularly exceeds 100 degrees creates dangerous conditions for frail seniors in facilities with inadequate cooling systems or understaffed night shifts.
The Central Valley's lower wages and high cost of healthcare worker training make it extraordinarily difficult for facilities to recruit and retain qualified caregivers — a chronic staffing crisis that directly translates into neglect. Fresno's large Hmong and Latino communities face persistent language barriers that facilities exploit to limit family oversight and suppress complaints. Families in lower-income neighborhoods like Southeast Fresno and West Fresno often have fewer facility options, forcing them to accept substandard care because the alternatives require traveling hours from home and support networks.
At California Nursing Home Law, attorneys Michael Young and Thomas Wallin are former nursing home defense lawyers who spent years representing the very facility chains that operate across Fresno. They know the corporate playbook — the delay tactics, the record alterations, the blame-shifting strategies — because they helped write it. Now they use that insider knowledge to tear those defenses apart and fight for families. Together, they have recovered over $250 million for victims of elder abuse and neglect statewide.
Our attorneys represent Fresno families in all types of nursing home abuse and neglect cases:
If you suspect a loved one is being abused or neglected in a Fresno nursing home or care facility, it is critical to act quickly. Contact the following agencies to file a report:
These organizations provide resources, support, and advocacy for seniors and their families in Fresno:
California provides some of the strongest legal protections for nursing home residents in the country. Key laws that protect Fresno seniors include:
Welfare & Institutions Code 15600-15675 — This landmark California statute allows elder abuse victims to recover enhanced damages, including attorney's fees and costs. It covers physical abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, abandonment, isolation, and other forms of mistreatment.
California Penal Code Section 368 — Makes it a felony to inflict unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering on an elder or dependent adult. Violations can result in imprisonment and significant fines.
Health & Safety Code 1599 — Guarantees nursing home residents fundamental rights including dignity, privacy, freedom from abuse, adequate medical care, and the right to voice grievances without retaliation.
Our nursing home abuse attorneys represent families in every neighborhood and community across the City of Fresno, including: