workman's comp. appeal process

philadelphia,pennsylvania how long does it usually takes for an appeal to reinstate work. comp. benefits? already been assigned to a judge.my lawyer sent judge a request to expedite the hearing for my testimony, after that he will move forward with the medical evidence presentation.he now sends me notice that he spoke to the opposing counsel and they want to set me up with a defense medical exam.but no date is set.he now sends me a copy of a new request to the judge that says in the alternative,i am asking for permission to depose the claiment & present her testimony at a later time before the record closes.what does that mean? is this another way of prolonging this case.in the past he has told me that he filed or started somethng to find out it wasn't done at the time he said and i find it very hard to get a answer that makes sense to me but i've already invested all this time in his firm,is he giving me a run around and working with the co-counsel.they wanted to settle months ago,shouldn't this be on the table by now. i chose not to settle but how much longer does it take for arbitration/litigation ? to begin? and what does section 422 of the act mean?i am in debt up to my ears and i need help. please any advice would be greatly appreciated! thanks