When does 2 + 2 = 2? The new math of SB 899 in California might well create such a result for entitlement to temporary disability benefits when a person suffers multiple injuries.

In Foster v. Workers' Comp. App. Bd. (2008) 161 Cal. App. 4th 1505, 73 Cal. Comp. Cas. 466, the Court of Appeal, Third District, interpreted the application of the two-year aggregate temporary disability (TD) limit under Cal. Lab. Code § 4656(c)(1) when an applicant has suffered multiple injuries. The two-year aggregate TD limit was enacted as part of SB 899. The decision is one of first impression on the subject. The statute has been recently amended, but the principles enunciated in Foster are likely to apply to all injuries that come under the aggregate TD limitation.

The Foster decision has some significant results. Some of these are due to the express approach and findings of the Court of Appeal, and some of them are by implication and are more subtle. Rosen assesses the implications in his Expert Commentary article.