Could Natasha Richardson's Death Have Been Prevented?
Submitted by DeepDiveAdmin on Mar 20, 2009
Theaters all along Broadway dimmed their lights last night in memory of Tony award-winning actress Natasha Richardson.
The medical examiners are now saying that the 45-year old actress died from blunt impact to the head. Richardson was not wearing a helmet at the time and she initially refused medical treatment, insisting she was fine.
Could Richardson's death have been prevented? Fox News reports:
Click here for more about Natasha Richardson and helmet safety.
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Natasha would be alive today if only she'd been living in a country with reasonable, common-sense ski-control laws. Yes, some forest rangers in cold climates need to ski, and they can be licensed -- but the average private citizen simply has no legitimate need to ski. It's not as though you can use skis to deter or stop a crime or anything like that.
We can end these tragedies, if only we have the will to overcome the powerful and greedy ski-equipment industry. If it saves just one life, it's worth it.
It seems she could have prevented her own death if she had simply deferred to the medical experts at the scene of the incident, rather than declining any medical treatment - and monitoring - at the moment it would have been most useful. Doubtless her wishes were honored with less argument because she was a celebrity, but regardless the choice was hers, and she made the wrong one.
Of course it could have been avoided by either a) wearing a helmet b) getting aid immediately c) ski in a country that does not have socialized medicine as in no helicopter service to trauma centers d) stayed home.