Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks helps you understand the context of your hearing. Judge Bestul maintains a 50% lifetime approval rate, which we evaluate against the latest Covington GA office average of 68% and the national average of 58%. With 17,880 lifetime decisions, this data provides a statistically significant look at his history. 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 Bestul'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 his 9 years on the bench, Judge Bestul has seen his approval rates fluctuate, starting at 81% in 2017 before trending toward a more moderate range in recent years. The latest reporting period shows a 62% approval rate, marking an uptick compared to the 43% to 52% range observed between 2021 and 2024. This recent shift suggests a potential change in case mix or evidence evaluation patterns. These trends provide a window into his judicial approach over time.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Bestul'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.
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Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Covington GA hearing office
The Covington GA hearing office serves a wide region, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 68%, reflecting the local environment for SSDI hearings. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can visit the Covington GA Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the Covington GA office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 40% to 71%. This variance highlights why understanding the general environment of your hearing office is useful. 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.