diff --git a/src/index.mjs b/src/index.mjs
index 2658b49..758e0c3 100644
--- a/src/index.mjs
+++ b/src/index.mjs
@@ -6,11 +6,14 @@ import getPull from './lib/get_pull.mjs';
 import getCommits from './lib/get_commits.mjs';
 import getCommitStatus from './lib/get_commit_status.mjs';
 import createPullComment from './lib/create_pull_comment.mjs';
+import execAndCheck from './lib/exec_and_check.mjs';
 import History from './lib/history.mjs';
 
 // load env vars from .env file
 dotenv.config();
 
+const sleep = async ms => new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+
 async function ghActionBot() {
   // parse repo name from cli and create repo instance
   const repo = createRepo(process.argv.splice(2)[0]);
@@ -22,6 +25,7 @@ async function ghActionBot() {
     PULL_LABEL_FILTER,
     PULL_AUTHOR_FILTER,
     PULL_RETEST_BODY,
+    ACTION_CHECK_DELAY = 3000,
   } = process.env;
 
   // load the history module
@@ -90,7 +94,23 @@ async function ghActionBot() {
 
   await Promise.all(
     records.map(record =>
-      createPullComment(repo, record.pull.number, PULL_RETEST_BODY, { delete: true })
+      execAndCheck(
+        () => createPullComment(repo, record.pull.number, PULL_RETEST_BODY, { delete: true }),
+        async () => {
+          logger.debug(`CHECK #${record.pull.number}: verify state change`);
+
+          // wait for the ci to restart
+          await sleep(ACTION_CHECK_DELAY);
+
+          // check that the commit status is now pending
+          const buildStatus = await getCommitStatus(repo, record.commit.sha);
+          return buildStatus.state === 'pending';
+        },
+        () => {
+          history.remove(record.comment);
+          logger.error(`Pull comment failed to trigger action on pull #${record.pull.number}`);
+        }
+      )
     )
   );
 }