I was informed 2 weeks ago my workmans comp claim was sent to a judge for final review how long does this usually take?

The answer provided by my colleague, Mr. Monaghan, is right on target.

However, your question leaves me wondering whether you are expecting that the Judge's "final review" will bring your claim to some sort of final conclusion. This is generally NOT the case -- or not in the sense of bringing your claim to any final end that is favorable to you. If your case involves a Claim Petition (seeking to establish your right to benefits), it would be very unusual that the litigation would span the full three years since a 2006 work injury. More likely the current litigation in your case involves some form of "change of status" petition, possibly including a Modification Petition (seeking to change your benefit rate based on available work allegedly within your restrictions), Suspension Petition (seeking to end wage replacement benefits), Termination Petition (referred to by one judge as "the death sentence in workers' compensation claims" - fully stopping all rights to wage replacement AND medical benefit coverage for a work injury, based on an allegation of complete recovery), or perhaps a Reinstatement Petition (seeking to re-start wage loss benefits after a period of return to work). There are several other possible types of petitions in Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation practice, and your question provides no insight.

Understand that the judge's "final review" in a given round of litigation does not bring your over-all case fully to a close, except in a Termination Petition - where if the workers' compensation insurance company wins, your rights will terminated and the case will be truly finally decided -- subject only to your right to appeal the Judge's decision. In all other petitions, the Judge will generally just be deciding whether to keep things as they are or grant the particular relief at issue. If you are getting your full workers' compensation, this generally means the Judge is deciding whether you will continue to have those rights or whether your benefits will be cut back or cut off.

Depending on the nature of the petition, delay by the Judge in deciding it could help you more than hurt you.

Regarding the problem of your attorney not interacting with you, we who are conscientious members of the bar certainly hope that this is not common. Communication with your attorney is crucial. Particularly in a case where litigation has dragged out or where the same claim has been through repeated rounds of litigation. You need to be talking to your attorney (and he or she needs to be talking to you) about settlement options. It is by aggressive settlement negotiations that workers' compensation claims are truly brought to a favorable final ending -- NOT by waiting for a Judge to act. Only your attorney can make this happen.

Insist that your lawyer take the time to fully discuss with you the status of your claim - including not only the procedural status of any current petitions being reviewed by a Judge, but also the "big picture" with regard to your rights under the Act and your potential for favorable settlement terms. Very often, the absolute best time to push for a lump sum settlement is when the matter is awaiting a Judge's decision. The petitions that have already been fought out and "the cards are on the table" so that the attorneys and the insurance company's penny pinchers are able to assess their odds for a given outcome from the Judge, good or bad, and how that would affect the claim. If your claim is strong, this will give your attorney leverage to push the insurance company for the best possible settlement terms.

Even if you do not want a settlement at this point, you need to know what your options are.