T. Bellamy v. WCAB (Trustees of the Univ. of PA), 1647 C.D. 2015

Claimant Tiffany Bellamy suffered a compensable right upper‑extremity repetitive‑use injury in July 2012; Employer accepted liability and paid benefits, later modifying to partial disability when she returned to light duty in September 2012.
Employer issued a notification of suspension on December 10, 2012, stating Claimant had returned to work without loss of earnings effective December 7, 2012; Claimant did not file a Section 413(c) challenge to that notification within 20 days.
Claimant filed petitions (reinstatement/review and penalty) alleging recurrence and seeking reinstatement of benefits; Employer later filed a termination petition alleging full recovery as of February 18, 2013.
The WCJ found Claimant had fully recovered by February 18, 2013, granted Employer’s termination petition as of that date, but (1) found the notification of suspension invalid and (2) awarded partial disability benefits and penalties for the period December 5, 2012–July 22, 2014.
The Board affirmed penalties but modified the WCJ’s reinstatement award to limit partial benefits to December 5, 2012–February 18, 2013 and awarded interest on those benefits; Claimant appealed to this Court.

Issue	Bellamy's Argument	Employer's Argument	Held
Whether Employer could suspend benefits without an order when Claimant did not timely challenge the §413(c) notification	Employer’s unilateral suspension was improper; benefits must continue until an order terminates them	§413(c) allows suspension via insurer notification; if not timely challenged (20 days), notification is binding like a supplemental agreement	Where Claimant failed to timely challenge, notification operated as binding suspension; benefits limited to period before full recovery (Dec 5, 2012–Feb 18, 2013)
Whether Claimant was entitled to benefits/penalties for the period after the unchallenged suspension up to WCJ order	Claimant sought reinstatement and penalties for failure to pay benefits from Dec 5, 2012 forward	Employer argued unchallenged notification precluded retroactive invalidation beyond periods Claimant proves disabled	Claimant could not retroactively invalidate an unchallenged suspension to recover benefits for periods she did not prove disability; Board’s limitation affirmed; penalty award otherwise upheld

U.S. Airways v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Rumbaugh), 854 A.2d 411 (Pa. 2004) (interpreting §413(c) notification procedure and challenge/supersedeas effect)
Anderson v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Penn Center for Rehab), 15 A.3d 944 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2010) (unchallenged §413(c) notification deemed binding; limits retroactive relief)
Kraeuter v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Ajax Enterprises, Inc.), 82 A.3d 513 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2013) (claimant may later set aside an inaccurate unchallenged notification only for periods proved disabled)
Gillis v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Willits Roofing, Inc.), 725 A.2d 257 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999) (employer generally cannot stop benefits without an order unless statutory exception applies)