# Natasha Richardson dies following ski accident **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731 "2009-03-17T08:13:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/41 "2009-03-18T04:21:04Z")
What’s irritating is that “several sources” are reporting that “several sources” say she’s brain dead, though invariably it all seems to go back to an unnamed source by either Fox or the New York Daily News. Fox has the rather crude “Richardson may have the Talk’n’Die type of brain injury” report on their page. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/42 "2009-03-18T04:34:30Z")
That reminds me that there was something about the article in the OP that bugged me, and I just realized what it was. I quoted: > [@](#): > > [IrishCentral.com](http://IrishCentral.com) has learned exclusively that famed actress Natasha Richardson, the wife of Irish superstar Liam Neeson, has been critically injured in Canada, according to an insider at the Montreal hospital to which she was taken. Has learned _exclusively_? Even if you were the first to get the scoop on something so tragic, it’s a bit crass to tout it. Everyone’s going to know within a very short time. It’s not like doing investigative journalism where you’re the only one who has or is interested in the story. I’m kindof amazed at the number of page views. I assume a lot of people are just checking with each post to see if there’s more news, but that’s still more than I would have expected given that Natasha Richardson is more of a stage actress than a film/TV actress. Her sister Joley is better-known I believe. In any case, I’m sorry if someone clicked on View Last Post hoping to hear new info. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/43 "2009-03-18T04:45:41Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com) still has not updated its page-one story since 2:28pm yesterday (March 17). If there were any more _reliable_ info, I’m sure they would have. No mention of brain death or coma. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/44 "2009-03-18T04:46:42Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > Fox News is reporting she is [brain dead.](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509477,00.html) _They_ can talk. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/45 "2009-03-18T09:59:45Z")
cnn wire has a small update that ms richardson’s mother and sister have been seen going into lenox hill hospital. lenox hill hospital has not released any information. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/46 "2009-03-18T11:25:56Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > The "TBI’ diagnosis sounds scary, but if she was conscious and talking, that’s a good sign. TBI is a catch all term. It could mean anything from a minor concussion to gaping axe wound. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/47 "2009-03-18T14:28:30Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com)’s article from half an hour ago is much the same as yesterday afternoon’s; still no mention of brain death or coma, FWIW: [Family visits Natasha Richardson after ski fall - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/18/richardson.accident/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/48 "2009-03-18T14:30:59Z")
The Toronto Star’s website is reporting that her family will be making a statement today > **[Breaking News - Headlines & Top Stories | The Star](https://www.thestar.com/)** > > thestar.com is Canada’s largest online news site. Live news, investigations, politics, sports and the heartbeat of Toronto, Canada's largest city. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/49 "2009-03-18T14:32:55Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > [CNN.com](http://CNN.com)’s article from half an hour ago is much the same as yesterday afternoon’s; still no mention of brain death or coma, FWIW: [Family visits Natasha Richardson after ski fall - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/18/richardson.accident/index.html) I did notice that a short while ago the article said she was recovering or recuperating at a New York hospital (some R word). They took that out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/50 "2009-03-18T16:06:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I did notice that a short while ago the article said she was recovering or recuperating at a New York hospital (some R word). They took that out. Well, there’s still “resting,” as in “resting comfortably,” followed sometimes by “resting in peace”. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/51 "2009-03-18T18:05:49Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > One of the reports said there were no external injuries or trauma. Possible that she might have been experiencing an aneurysm or something else internal, which might have caused the fall? Just speculation. The reports suggest that when she fell, the ski patrol came to check her out, bring her to the bottom of the hill, and recommended that she go see a doctor. I don’t think that’s the response to a typical wipeout on the bunny hill. That sounds like the response to a pretty hard fall. CGG419’s link mentions that it happened on the Nansen trail, which is a beginner trail according to the trail map, but not one of your tiny bunny slopes. It’s a decent length trail, starting near the top of the mountain, you can get up a good head of steam on one of those if you don’t know what you’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/52 "2009-03-18T18:20:43Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > The reports suggest that when she fell, the ski patrol came to check her out, bring her to the bottom of the hill, and recommended that she go see a doctor. I don’t think that’s the response to a typical wipeout on the bunny hill. That sounds like the response to a pretty hard fall. But that’s not at all what the reports are saying. The ski resort [stated](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29733775/): > [@](#): > > Richardson fell on a beginners trail and later reported not feeling well. > > “She did not show any visible sign of injury but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor,” said the statement from the resort, about 80 miles northwest of Montreal. > > The ski resort said the instructor and a member of the ski patrol accompanied Richardson to her hotel, where they again recommended she be seen by a doctor. Mont Tremblant spokeswoman Catherine Lacasse said Richardson said she seemed fine at first. > > “An hour later she said she didn’t feel well. She had a headache, so we sent her to the hospital,” Lacasse said. “There were no signs of impact and no blood, nothing.” I read elsewhere that after the fall she was talking and joking, and the ski resort took her off the mountain only out of an abundance of caution. So I don’t think an aneurysm is out of the question; that was my speculation, too. If in fact the poor woman is in a bad a way as at least some reports indicate, that would be a very unusual – though of course not impossible – consequence of what appears to have been a minor fall. My thoughts are with her family; how terrible for them. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/53 "2009-03-18T18:27:24Z")
From 14 minutes ago: > [@](#): > > The family have remained silent about Richardson’s condition as conflicting reports emerged. The New York Post cites friends as saying that she was “brain-dead”, while the celebrity website [TMZ.com](http://TMZ.com) said that she was sedated and suffering from brain swelling. ([From the Times Online.](http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article5933929.ece)) It sounds like no one really knows yet. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/54 "2009-03-18T18:29:17Z")
Current reports seem to confirm that her heart is beating but that she is brain dead. Subdural hemotoma? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/55 "2009-03-18T18:40:56Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > I read elsewhere that after the fall she was talking and joking, and the ski resort took her off the mountain only out of an abundance of caution. Maybe it’s just the places I’ve skied, but I’ve fallen about 8 zillion times (yes, I’m a lousy skier), and nobody ever escorted me off the mountain. Beginners fall down all the time, if you got taken off and had to go to the doctor every time you fell, beginners would spend about 5 minutes skiing a day. I believe that “she seemed fine” in this case means that she didn’t appear to be in immediate medical distress. Kind of like when a boxer dies of a brain hemorrhage, he can walk out of the ring and seem “fine” but he’s clearly not feeling as good as he did before the fight. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/56 "2009-03-18T18:41:46Z")
[Mark Donohue](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Donohue) suffered from a similar brain injury after a wreck at an Austrian F1 circuit. Walked away from the crash seemingly fine, started having a bad headache, was dead within 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/57 "2009-03-18T18:51:10Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Maybe it’s just the places I’ve skied, but I’ve fallen about 8 zillion times (yes, I’m a lousy skier), and nobody ever escorted me off the mountain. Beginners fall down all the time, if you got taken off and had to go to the doctor every time you fell, beginners would spend about 5 minutes skiing a day. > > I believe that “she seemed fine” in this case means that she didn’t appear to be in immediate medical distress. Kind of like when a boxer dies of a brain hemorrhage, he can walk out of the ring and seem “fine” but he’s clearly not feeling as good as he did before the fight. Hell I’ve skied at Mont Tremblant itself and fallen a zillion times with no help; but then again she was taking lessons at the time and due to her celebrity status would no doubt have been treated a bit more luxuriously than we proletariats. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/58 "2009-03-18T18:57:52Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Maybe it’s just the places I’ve skied, but I’ve fallen about 8 zillion times (yes, I’m a lousy skier), and nobody ever escorted me off the mountain. Yes, but while you are a no doubt delicious Cheesesteak, you are not a movie star. So far as I know. > [@](#): > > I believe that “she seemed fine” in this case means that she didn’t appear to be in immediate medical distress. Yeah, I think that’s the generally-accepted understanding of “she seemed fine.” And I’m not at all saying that she didn’t take a knock in the ski lesson that left her brain-injured – indeed, that seems to be what most sources are saying – I’m just saying that given how innocuous the incident was reported as being, coupled with her apparent fine-ness after the fact, I would not be surprised if it turns out instead that she suffered another type of catastrophic brain event, such as an aneurysm. That seems to me at least as likely as that people are misreporting what actually occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/59 "2009-03-18T19:34:08Z")
[TMZ sites that she has been taken off of life support](http://www.tmz.com/2009/03/18/natasha-richardson-life-support-plug-pulled/). Horrible tragedy, such a waste, and that’s about all you can say at such a time other than profanities. So young, such a talent, by all accounts a good person, and such a freak accident. Details from her [ambulance ride](http://www.tmz.com/2009/03/18/richardsons-ambulance-ride-confirms-condition/) have also been released, which pisses me off; I know that Canada has different laws in some regards, but I’m sure medical information is still confidential. I know that as a public figure there is curiosity and I recognize that I accessed the report, but it shouldn’t have been released until her family chose to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/60 "2009-03-18T19:49:49Z")
[CNNHealth.com](http://CNNHealth.com) on the hidden dangers of brain injuries, with reference to Richardson: ['Minor' head injuries can turn serious rapidly, experts say - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/18/brain.injury/index.html?iref=mpstoryview) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731.md?page=4)