Coroner's Finding: Howse, John Neville
Deceased
John Neville Howse
Demographics
92y, male
Date of death
2020-05-07
Finding date
2023-01-20
Cause of death
subdural haemorrhage (haematoma) following a fall at a residential aged care facility
AI-generated summary
A 92-year-old man with early-stage Alzheimer's disease died from a subdural haemorrhage following an unwitnessed fall at a residential aged care facility. He fell while getting out of bed at 23:30 hours on 4 May 2020, striking his head. He was initially alert and responsive with minor injuries. He deteriorated over the next two days and was transferred to hospital where a CT scan revealed an inoperable subdural haematoma. Palliative care was initiated and he died the same day. The coroner found no evidence that a walk to a nearby pharmacy earlier that day contributed to the fall, and accepted medical opinion that the walk was appropriate for his condition. No clinical errors or preventable failures were identified.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Clinical conditions
Procedures
Contributing factors
- fall from bed at night
- head trauma
- advanced age
- early-stage Alzheimer's disease
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