Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks helps you understand the environment of your upcoming hearing. Judge Alaga-Gadigian's lifetime approval rate of 68% is supported by a significant volume of 22,357 lifetime decisions. In the latest reporting period, her approval rate of 76% outperformed the Oak Park office average of 67% and the national average of 58%. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Alaga-Gadigian's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over her 10 years on the bench, Judge Alaga-Gadigian has shown a consistent approach to disability claims. Her yearly approval trends have remained stable, generally fluctuating within a moderate range before a recent uptick in the latest reporting period. This recent 76% rate represents a high point in her career tenure. These patterns suggest a judge who evaluates evidence within an established framework, though the recent shift may reflect changes in the complexity of cases assigned to your docket.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Alaga-Gadigian's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Alaga-Gadigian? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Park hearing office
The Oak Park Hearing Office serves a large population in Illinois, managing a high volume of disability claims through a team of 6 ALJ professionals. The office currently maintains an average approval rate of 67%, reflecting the regional trends for disability adjudication. You should be prepared for a thorough review of your medical records and vocational history. You can see the Oak Park Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. At the Oak Park Hearing Office, the bench includes 6 judges with lifetime approval rates ranging from 36% to 80%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.