Approval rates
Comparing approval rates requires looking at the same timeframes to ensure accuracy. While your judge's overall approval rate since 2016 is 45%, his latest-period approval rate is 39%, which sits 10 percentage points below the Pittsburgh office's latest-period average of 49%. These figures are drawn from a substantial docket of 3,465 decisions, providing a stable view of past activity.
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 Bareford'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
Since 2016, the approval rate for Christian Bareford has shown a varied trend. After an initial 54% approval rate in 2016, the figures fluctuated, reaching 51% in 2021 and 2023 before settling at 39% in the most recent partial fiscal year. With 3,465 total decisions on record, the data shows a pattern that has moved between 36% and 54% over the last decade.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Bareford'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.
About the Pittsburgh hearing office
Christian Bareford's most recent office on record is the Pittsburgh Hearing Office, which serves you in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region. This office maintains a bench of 13 judges who handle a diverse range of disability claims. With an office-wide latest-period approval rate of 49%, you can expect a thorough review of your medical evidence during the hearing process.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Pittsburgh
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. There are 13 judges whose most recent office on record is the Pittsburgh office, and 7 of them decided cases here in SSA's latest file through July 2026. Approval rates for this bench range from 28% to 74% on their records since 2016.
Approval rates change with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Frequently asked questions
Christian Bareford's latest-period approval rate of 39% is 10 percentage points lower than the Pittsburgh office's latest-period average of 49%. Because case assignment is random, an attorney can help you prepare your case regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing.
Yes, the approval rate has fluctuated over the 3,465 decisions on record since 2016. It peaked at 54% in 2016 and has seen various shifts, including a 39% rate in the most recent partial fiscal year. An attorney can help you understand how these trends might relate to your specific evidence.
No, you cannot request a specific judge. The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, making the process random. An attorney can help you prepare for the hearing process regardless of the judge assigned.
An SSDI hearing is a formal but non-adversarial proceeding where a judge reviews your medical records and hears your testimony. You may be questioned about your work history and daily limitations. An attorney can help you prepare your testimony and ensure your medical evidence is presented effectively.
Approval rates represent a probability cloud based on past decisions and are not a prediction for your specific hearing. Your outcome depends primarily on the quality of your medical evidence and your ability to prove your disability. An attorney can help you evaluate your case strengths and prepare accordingly.
