Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Appleton currently maintains a 46% lifetime approval rate across 5,627 lifetime decisions. This figure sits below the latest office average of 52% and the national average of 58%. These metrics are derived from a significant volume of cases, providing a stable view of past performance.
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 Appleton'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 3 years on the bench, Judge Appleton has maintained a consistent decision-making profile. The yearly trend shows approval rates holding steady at 47% in 2023 and 2024, with a slight adjustment to 45% in 2025. This stability suggests a predictable approach to evaluating evidence and medical documentation. The latest reporting period shows a 40% approval rate, which reflects a continuation of the judge's established pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Appleton'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 Appleton? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Middlesboro hearing office
The Middlesboro Hearing Office serves you and other claimants throughout the region, managing a high volume of disability cases. With 6 judges on the bench, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 52%. You can expect a formal hearing process where evidence quality and medical records are the primary factors in the outcome. You can visit the Middlesboro 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Middlesboro Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 46% to 53%. Because case assignment is outside of your control, understanding the general environment of the office is more practical than focusing on individual peers.
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.