News of her death came as a shock. Actress Natasha Richardson fell during a skiing lesson and died just days later. The diagnosis: epidural hematoma.

Dr. Dean Lin is a neurosurgeon with Lee Memorial Health System and says, “It typically comes from a ruptured artery in the brain and is frequently associated with fractures of the skull.”

Richardson reportedly didn’t seek medical attention immediately, only after she started experiencing a headache. “The problem with epidural hematomas is because they come from arterial blood, it can grow very quickly and get very large and dangerous very quickly which happened to her, to the extent that the hematoma was crushing her brain before she could even get to the hospital,” explains Dr. Lin.

Dr. Lin says that oftentimes people don’t seek medical attention after a fall because they don’t know it might be an epidural hematoma. The symptoms aren’t noticed right away. “That’s a classic case of epidural hematoma, its known as a lucid interval where the patient feels they’re fine, but a few hours later they are found unresponsive,” adds Dr. Lin. But when it comes to falls or any injuries involving the head, Dr. Lin says it’s important to see a doctor, no matter how harmless the problem may seem.

“If there’s something bad that’s happened and you suspect there was a head injury, they should definitely be evaluated by a physician,” adds Dr. Lin. Other ways to protect yourself: after a fall, even if it’s a slight tumble, make a point to be around other people in the event something should happen to you.

And never hesitate to call 9-1-1. It’s better to be safe than sorry.