TTH’s Marc Aoun and John Morgan recently prevailed before a Greater Philadelphia Area Workers’ Compensation Judge on an Act 46 Claim Petition – one of the most notoriously difficult petitions to defend. The Claimant was a volunteer firefighter alleging to have developed a carcinoid tumor as a result of firefighting. The Claimant testified that he provided notice to the fire department in 2019 that he believed his condition was related to firefighting. As a result, the fire department denied his claim. The Claimant did not file a Claim Petition until March 2024, well-beyond the 3-year statute of repose. The Employer moved to dismiss from the outset, but the WCJ initially denied the motion, citing some dicta in a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court case suggesting that claimants have up to 600 weeks to file Act 46 Claim Petitions. As the claim proceeded on the merits, Marc and John litigated a second case with the same statute of limitations issue to the Commonwealth Court, Gilbert v. South Whitehall Twp. (WCAB), 341 A.3d 212 (Pa. Cmmw. Ct. 2025), where the Court held in a published opinion that the 3-year statute of repose applied to Act 46 claims. In the brief, John urged the WCJ to reconsider her two prior interlocutory orders denying the motion to dismiss based on the new controlling precedential authority. Days after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied further review of Gilbert, the WCJ reversed herself and denied the petition as untimely filed.

Questions about this case can be directed at Marc Aoun at 610.332.7006 or maoun@tthlaw.com, or John Morgan at 267.861.7580 or jmorgan@tthlaw.com