Larry Chaters, 68, was taken to hospital with four broken ribs and a collapsed lung on December 27.
The ambulance crew called to his home were told he had fallen down the stairs.
Mr Chaters died from pneumonia and chest injuries on January 2 at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill, south London.
On the same day, his son Craig Chaters, 37, of Cormont Road in Camberwell, attended a police station and was arrested.
He was subsequently charged with his dad’s murder and appeared at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn said the allegation against the defendant concerned “a violent attack on his vulnerable dad which caused significant injuries which ultimately led to his death”.
The defendant wept throughout the hearing which he attended by videolink from Thameside prison.
Judge Philip Katz KC set a plea hearing for March 26 and a provisional two-week trial from October 20.
He also ordered a pre-trial hearing to take place at the Old Bailey on October 10.
The judge remanded Chaters into custody.
