Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decided Wheatley v. Pyramid Hotel Group (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board), (Pa. Commw. No. 1017 C.D. 2022, filed Jan. 11, 2024), which addressed the untimeliness of an appeal. Given the convoluted, yet common fact pattern, a thorough review of Wheatley is warranted.

By way of background, the claimant filed a claim petition in January 2019, seeking benefits stemming from a work-related aggravation of preexisting conditions. The matter was litigated and in May 2020, the workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) granted the claim petition. Both parties appealed the decision for various reasons and in March 2021, the board affirmed the WCJ’s decision in part and reversed it in part, remanding the case back to the WCJ for additional findings.