Finding into death of Frances Mary Hayden
Deceased
Frances Mary Hayden
Demographics
78y, female
Date of death
2024-10-17
Finding date
2025-09-10
Cause of death
Complications of mandibular fractures sustained in a fall, in the setting of malnutrition, schizoaffective disorder, and osteoporosis
AI-generated summary
Frances Hayden, 78, died from complications of mandibular fractures sustained in a fall at an aged care facility. She had long-standing schizoaffective disorder with associated anorexia, resulting in severe malnutrition (BMI 13.3) and osteoporosis at the time of death. She fell on 25 September 2024, sustaining a jaw fracture that limited oral intake. Despite dietitian support, she continued to decline and died 22 days later. The coroner found her care was reasonable and appropriate, and that she was given appropriate agency in her treatment decisions, including her refusal of investigations for gastrointestinal bleeding and further interventions. No clinical errors or preventability factors were identified.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- severe malnutrition (BMI 13.3)
- osteoporosis
- schizoaffective disorder with chronic anorexia
- limited oral intake following mandibular fracture
- patient refusal of investigations and treatment for gastrointestinal bleeding
Full text
Related cases
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 —