RAND Kenneth R. Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation

The RAND Kenneth R. Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation, or Feinberg Center, seeks to identify and promote laws, programs, and institutions that reduce the adverse social and economic effects of natural and manmade catastrophes by

  • Improving incentives to reduce future losses
  • Providing just compensation to those suffering losses while appropriately allocating liability to responsible parties
  • Helping affected individuals, businesses, and communities to recover quickly
  • Avoiding unnecessary legal, administrative, and other transaction costs

COVID-19 Liability and Compensation

  • Joe Garcia waits to get tested in his car for COVID-19 in Austin, Texas, June 28, 2020, photo by Sergio Flores/Reuters

    COVID-19's Impacts on California's Workers' Compensation System

    California Senate Bill (SB) 1159 facilitated access to workers' compensation (WC) benefits for select groups of workers with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure. What were the effects of COVID-19 claims on the California workers' compensation system and on the payment of workers' compensation benefits?

    May 26, 2022

More COVID-19 compensation and liability research and commentary

Featured Research and Commentary

  • Reacquired Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sit in a desert graveyard near Victorville, California, March 28, 2018, photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

    The Globalization of Mass Civil Litigation: Lessons from the Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Case

    The Volkswagen "clean diesel" emission fraud litigation is a prime example of global litigation, a new form of transnational mass litigation. The case illustrates the features of global litigation and the problems that arise in the resolution of these types of claims across transnational jurisdictions.

    Jun 22, 2021

  • One hundred dollar bill puzzle, photo by fatido/Getty Images

    Strategies for Effectively Allocating Opioid Settlement Funds

    Opioid settlements with pharmaceutical companies have already occurred, and there are more to come. Settlement funds could save lives and mitigate lifelong harms from opioid misuse if they are allocated to the most effective interventions. States and communities have one chance to get the allocation right and to avoid some of the missteps that substantially diminished the potential public health impact of the tobacco settlement.

    Jun 14, 2021

  • A judge's gavel with bottles of prescription drugs. Photo by CatLane / Getty Images

    Opioid Litigation: What's New and What Does It Mean for Future Litigation?

    Amid claims that the pharmaceutical industry used misleading tactics to downplay the known harms of prescription opioids, more than 2,000 plaintiffs have joined the largest civil trial in U.S. history: National Prescription Opiate Litigation (MDL 2804). In this symposium, experts discuss the opioid litigation and its effects on the future of mass litigation.

    Feb 9, 2021

  • A house burning along Cherry Glen Road during the LNU Lightning Complex Fire on the outskirts of Vacaville, California, August 19, 2020, photo by Stephen Lam/Reuters

    How Wildfire Risks Affect California's Insurance Market

    Wildfires in California destroy thousands of structures each year, devastating homeowners and bringing heavy costs for insurers. And without an aggressive GHG emissions control strategy, climate change will likely increase the risk of wildfires in some areas. How will insurance markets respond?

    Sep 14, 2020

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