The RAND Institute for Civil Justice uses empirical and objective research methods to search out the root causes of system problems and identify the best fixes. We find common ground among adversaries, and interpret findings for policymakers. Our work aims to make the system more efficient and equitable for all, protecting society from the economic and social costs of a system that could become arbitrary and capricious.
The authors of this Perspective examine how and why policymakers have granted access to workers' compensation benefits to employees who are required to work outside the home during the COVID-19 pandemic. They assess the potential impacts of such access on workers, employers, and insurers, and they pose questions for policymakers to consider when evaluating past policies and crafting new ones to meet future public health emergencies.
Drawing on a review of regulatory and other documents and interviews with industry stakeholders, the author presents the origin and intention of recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP), points of disagreement about the definition, and recommendations for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health to bring industry and government into better alignment about expectations for complying with RAGAGEP.
Workers' compensation insurance is mandatory in nearly all states. We use data from a unique market without a coverage mandate to estimate the demand for workers' comp insurance. Our analysis suggests that several forms of market failure may not justify a mandate.
The nation's reliance on computer software to run and manage critical business services has increased dramatically over many decades and only continues to grow. However, software supply chain risks are an important yet overlooked concern. This Perspective presents a set of proposed disclosure rules that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could implement to help address software supply chain security.
The impact of medical malpractice reforms, especially caps on noneconomic damages, is of special interest to policymakers and physicians. This study uses data from North Carolina to examine how caps implemented in noncrisis periods affect malpractice premiums.
This final report in a series is part of a regular effort to monitor the wage losses of injured workers in the California workers' compensation system between 2013 and 2017. It updates estimates of trends in earnings losses reported in the interim reports and provides the first estimates of wage replacement rates for workers affected by benefit changes that were adopted as part of major workers' compensation reform legislation in 2012.
We sought to examine whether quality of care for work-associated carpal tunnel syndrome is associated with healthcare expenditures or disability. Quality of care was associated with health care expenditures, but not with disability.
We conducted a literature review on worker and employer experiences surrounding COVID-19 and worker's compensation, adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
The U.S. civil justice system was forced to restructure almost overnight due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Panelists in this virtual conference discussed how the pandemic has affected civil juries and pretrial case management, addressed implications that the pandemic might have for federal and state civil rules, and discussed solutions that could be applied to the civil justice system after circumstances eventually return to "normal."
We study the effect of state recreational marijuana laws on workers' compensation benefit receipt among adults 40–62 years old.
The Volkswagen "clean diesel" emission fraud litigation is a prime example of global litigation, a new form of transnational mass litigation. This report uses the Volkswagen litigation to illustrate the features of global litigation and the problems that arise in the resolution of these types of claims across transnational jurisdictions.
Online dispute resolution (ODR) provides a forum for the resolution of court matters that was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. A panel of experts discussed issue relating to the design and implementation of ODR programs and platforms, strategies to improve access to justice, opportunities to engage potential ODR users, and need for the rigorous research and evaluation of ODR programs.
The opioid epidemic has claimed the lives of more than 450,000 Americans since 1999. 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.
In this review, we find that (a) US employers' use of conviction information is not clearly aligned with the risk of future criminal behavior or employer costs, and (b) using such information leads to hiring errors that pose costs to society.
High-profile attacks illustrate the potential for systemic cyber risk. We estimate the aggregate economic impact of firm-specific attacks finding potential large losses from downstream propagations.
These conference proceedings from an event organized by the RAND Institute for Civil Justice summarize key points made during a discussion among stakeholders in the legal community about mental health and well-being, including how legal professionals and educators can improve those factors in their environments for students and for professionals in the field.
This article examines this problem empirically, using a rich, national data set of closed automobile bodily injury claims.
The adequacy of disability benefits for workers with occupational cancer is an issue of considerable public concern. In this report, the authors conduct an empirical analysis of earnings losses, disability ratings, and benefit payments for occupational cancer claims in the California workers' compensation system. Findings from this study may inform ongoing debate over California's approach to compensating workers with industrial cancer.
This article offers some of the first rigorous evidence regarding the impacts of health coverage expansions targeting the low-income population on use of the tort system, as proxied by insurance payouts.
This article proceeds in three parts: discussions of the general goals and role of public health tort litigation, the demonstrated and potential value of opioid litigation to achieve public health goals, and a conclusion.
This article explains a surprising effect of tort liability in the market for prescription drugs: punitive damages shift liability from doctors to drug companies, but not when physician malpractice liability is limited."
Businesses operating overseas have inadequate tools for assessing business bribery risk and their potential risk of violating various anti-corruption laws. This report introduces a new index, the TRACE Matrix, for business bribery risk assessment. The index provides a quick and useful guide for businesses operating overseas based on a conceptual model of bribery risk and supported by data specific to firms.
Thousands of data breaches occur each year with some costing millions of dollars. Consequently, cyber insurance has grown rapidly in the past decade. In this research, we conduct the first rigorous qualitative study of actual insurance policies.
In many states, auto insurers rather than health insurers pay for a substantial fraction of the medical care following auto crashes.
The authors describe illustrative instances of human-made disasters in which the potentially responsible party (PRP) offered early assistance to the affected community. The authors also explore the benefits and drawbacks of such assistance in stakeholders' eyes and examine potential approaches that policymakers might want to take in encouraging PRPs to provide early assistance.
