The Workers' Compensation Crisis in California: A Primer
David Neumark

January 2005

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This issue of California Economic Policy examines why California’s workers’ compensation costs have soared over the past four years, far exceeding premium increases in the rest of the country. It finds that the two most important contributors to the cost run-ups are rising medical costs and increasing numbers of major permanent partial disability cases. Recent legislative reforms may help resolve the situation, but more research and evaluation is needed.