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Brain Injury Resource Center

Offices

Indianapolis Office:
2850 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46208-4713
Phone: 317-926-1111
Fax: 317-926-1411

Toll Free: 800-253-5537

South Bend Office:
16658 Cleveland Rd
Granger, IN 46530-9186
Phone: 574-277-7773
Fax: 574-271-3337

Terre Haute Office:
1617 S 3rd St
Terre Haute, IN 47802-1013
Phone: 812-235-5600
Fax: 812-235-7800

Michigan Office:
814 Port Street
St. Joseph, MI 49085
Phone: 269-983-7333
Fax: 269-983-7377

New Mexico Office:
505 Marquette NW
Suite 1300
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: 505-938-2300
Fax: 505-938-2301

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What Is Talk And Die Syndrome?

In March, beloved actress 45-year-old Natasha Richardson died after a relatively minor ski accident left her with bleeding on the brain. Her deadly ski accident head trauma left many across the country wondering about seemingly mild traumatic brain injuries and something called "talk and die syndrome."

Talk and die syndrome takes place where a fall victim or accident victim receives a minor hit on the head that is not immediately followed by tell-tale brain injury symptoms such as unconsciousness confusion, coma, slurred speech, severe headache, or drowsiness. Instead, accident victims will be able to talk and function without any problems in the minutes after their head injury.

Talk and die syndrome is usually caused by a specific brain injury, epidural hematoma, a fracture in the temporal bone that is located near an artery in the head, the middle meningeal. Since bleeding from the artery may be slow, patients could be "fine" in the minutes and even hours after a brain injury, but as the skull fills with blood and as the brain receives mounting pressure, the head injury patient will soon become confused and then lapse into a coma. Although a person who receives immediate medical attention after an epidural hematoma has a good chance of survival, it is hard to catch quickly.

It is difficult to know whether you should go to the emergency room for a simple bump on the head, but if you have any doubts that you may have struck your head and caused serious damage, your best bet is to take a quick trip to the emergency room.