head injury

I have been reading more on the Natasha Richardson story overnight, and it appears the story has moved into blame-placing mode. (For the original discussion of the story, read this.) Possible places to lay the blame (that I have read thus far): The absence of mandatory helmet laws Canadian medicine's failure to administer rapid CTs Quebec's inadequate air ambulances Inadequate patient education More on these under the fold. I said before about mandatory helmet laws (and many others said in the comments of the previous post) that while I don't have a problem with mandatory helmet laws for…

So I am way behind the news cycle on this, but I wanted to comment briefly on actress Natasha Richardson's death as a result of an epidural hematoma. From everything I read, she seemed like a very good actress, a very decent woman, and an excellent wife and mother, so I was saddened to read the story. I wish the best to her husband, Liam Neeson, and family. Epidural hematomas from head injuries are a serious problem -- both to diagnose and to treat, so I want to spend a little bit of time talking about what they are and how to prevent them. Hematomas are pools of blood caused in the brain…