As most people know by now, actress Natasha Richardson died following a minor head injury suffered while snow skiing. Well, obviously it turned out not to be a minor head injury because she ultimately died. When I say “minor” I’m referring to the classic definition that the medical community assigns to the severity of brain injuries.
Let me first express my sincere condolencens to Ms. Richardson’s family. What a sad and tragic event. I just can’t imagine having to experience such a tragic event in my own family. I hope that her husband and family get through this horrible event.
But I want to address the circumstances surrounding Ms. Richardson’s injury and ultimate death. According to reports, she fell while skiing and hit her head. She never lost consciousness. In fact, Ms. Richardson declined medical attention because she felt fine. But an hour later, she began to experience severe headaches and then lost consciousness. After being transported to the hospital, she experienced total brain inactivity, or what has been described as being “brain dead.”
Most people, including the media, are incredulous over the circumstances of Ms. Richardson’s death. It doesn’t seem possible since her initial head injury appeared to be so minor and insignificant.
What I would like to express is that I have represented dozens and dozens of brain injury patients over the years. Most of them were injured in auto and pedestrian accidents. Many of them never lost consciousness, just like Ms. Richardson, but continued to experience debilitating symptoms associated with brain injury, like lost memory, inability to concentrate, light sensitivity and speech problems. The doctors usually diagnosed this type of injury as a MIld Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI), because the severity is usually based on the type of insult to the head and whether the person sustains a loss of consciousness.
MTBI cases can be tough. Usually the insurance company will hire a multitude of experts to say that the injury doesn’t exist because the initial insult to the head was so minor and because there was no documented “loss of consciousness.” The “no loss of consciousness” defense can be very difficult to overcome because many jurors believe (through conditioning by Hollywood and the movies) that serious brain injuries only happen when there’s a skull fracture and significant loss of consciousness. As Ms. Richardson’s death clearly illustrates, this belief simply isn’t true.
Although Ms. Richardson’s death is sad and heart-wrenching, what it does do is highlight the fact that even what appears to be a very minor head injury, can in fact be a significant injury with long term consequences, including death.
I see MTBI injuries in my practice all the time. Usually this injury involves the rupture of microscopic blood vessels in the brain, which in turn can cause “brain bleeds” that can impact a person’s ability to think and ability to recall. MTBI also causes the nerve fibers (neurons) in the brain to be stretched and torn, so that the person never feels “quite right” or the same ever again. This is called a “shearing injury”. When a brain shear injury occurs, most of the time the Brain MRI will appear normal because current technology is not sensitive enough to show the physical damage caused to the brain.
I hope Ms. Richardson’s death raises awareness about the silent epidemic of minor brain injuries, and how even the most “minor head injury” can actually cause significant problems, and in some cases death. It’s just a shame that it happened to someone that was so liked and universally admired.
She was great in the Parent Trap and a the White Countess… RIP Natasha
This is a sad incident, thank you for fighting so hard to get victims and their families the compensation they deserve.