Coroner's Finding: KNOWLES Edward James
Deceased
Edward James Knowles
Demographics
80y, male
Date of death
2016-05-12
Finding date
2020-01-10
Cause of death
inanition complicating end stage dementia
AI-generated summary
An 80-year-old man with end-stage dementia died from inanition (severe malnutrition/dehydration) while subject to Mental Health Act inpatient treatment orders. He had been admitted after becoming aggressive at home due to progressive dementia. During hospitalisation he experienced multiple medical complications including urinary retention requiring catheterisation, swallowing difficulties, and a pulmonary embolism. A palliative approach was appropriately adopted from 11 May 2016 when his overall deterioration was evident. The coroner found the inpatient treatment orders were lawful and properly imposed, and that his care whilst detained was appropriate at all times. No clinical errors or preventable factors were identified.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
Contributing factors
- end stage dementia with progressive cognitive decline
- difficulty with oral intake and swallowing
- refusal of food during palliative phase
Full text
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —