Researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto conducted a meta-analysis on all available scientific data regarding the prevalence of TBI in homeless individuals. Previous research demonstrated that homeless people in Canada suffer from several serious health concerns, are more likely to visit the emergency room, and also require longer hospital stays and are at raised risk of death when compared to those with homes.
The prevalence of TBI in this population, however, had not yet been determined. The study published in March 2013 showed that between 8 and 53% of homeless people have suffered a traumatic brain injury. Most of these individuals are men. A majority of these injuries were sustained prior to becoming homeless–an aspect that suggests that TBI may be a significant risk factor for homelessness. Any person having care or custody of an individual with severe TBI who is disabled needs to consider the fair present value of that person’s residual lifetime earnings. If that amount can be secured through a lawsuit and placed in trust for the disabled TBI survivor, with a responsible person administering the trust, the risk of homelessness will be eliminated.
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