Workers' Compensation
The Institute for Civil Justice's work on a slate of issues helps policymakers improve this important social safety net.
Institute for Civil Justice Publications
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.
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Industrial Cancers in California's Workers' Compensation System: Evidence on Earnings Losses and Disability Benefits 2020
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.
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Medicaid Coverage Expansions and Liability Insurance 2020
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.
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Embracing and Controlling Risk Dependency in Cyber-Insurance Policy Underwriting 2020
This article highlights how cyber risk dependencies can be taken into consideration when underwriting cyber-insurance policies.
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Who Settles in Workers' Compensation? An Analysis of How Trends in Claim Settlements Relate to Workers' Compensation Benefit Changes in Oregon 2019
This report explores how the expected value of workers' compensation benefits interacts with the decision to settle a claim. The authors analyze the relationship between the expected value of benefits and the probability of settlement before and after a 2005 policy in Oregon that changed the value of permanent disability benefits. The findings do not show evidence that changes in potential benefit values result in strategic decisions to settle.
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Early Assistance from Potentially Responsible Parties After Human-Made Disasters 2019
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.
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Hacked Autonomous Vehicles: Who May Be Liable for Damages? An Initial Investigation into How Civil Liability Systems Can Prepare 2019
Existing civil liability law is flexible enough to address most hacked autonomous vehicle claims. Manufacturers and operators will need to stay abreast of attacks and take precautions to avoid similar attacks and reduce liability exposure.
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When Autonomous Vehicles Are Hacked, Who Is Liable? 2019
Who might face civil liability if autonomous vehicles (AVs) are hacked to steal data or inflict mayhem, injuries, and damage? How will the civil justice and insurance systems adjust to handle such claims? RAND researchers addressed these questions to help those in the automotive, technology, legal, and insurance industries prepare for the shifting roles and responsibilities that the era of AVs may bring.
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Business Bribery Risk Assessment 2019
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.
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Content Analysis of Cyber Insurance Policies: How Do Carriers Price Cyber Risk? 2019
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.
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Wage Loss Monitoring for Injured Workers in California's Workers' Compensation System: 2014–2015 Injury Year Findings (Second Interim Report) 2018
This report presents new estimates of wage loss for workers in California who suffered a workplace injury or illness in 2014–2015 and compares these estimates with trends before, during, and after the Great Recession. The authors matched injured workers with control workers in the same firm at the time of injury with similar characteristics and analyzed the impact of injury on labor market outcomes, including earnings and employment.