Approval rates
Judge Bring's approval rate is calculated based on 14,221 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, his 52% approval rate tracks closely with the 51% average seen across the Omaha office. These figures offer a window into past performance but do not account for the unique medical evidence in your specific file.
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 Bring'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 Bring has demonstrated a fluctuating decision pattern. After an initial period of high approval rates, his numbers shifted before seeing a notable rise between 2021 and 2023, where rates reached 70% and 68% respectively. The most recent data shows a 51% approval rate, reflecting a stabilization in his current caseload. This trend indicates that his recent decisions align closely with the broader office environment.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Bring'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 Bring? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Omaha hearing office
The Omaha Hearing Office serves you throughout Nebraska, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With 6 judges on the bench, the office maintains an average approval rate of 51% as of the latest reporting period. You can visit the Omaha 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 Judge Bring is essentially random. Across the Omaha office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges vary significantly, ranging from 30% to 78%. This variance highlights why focusing on the strength of your own medical evidence is more important than the specific judge 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.