Approval rates
Judge Brounoff maintains a lifetime approval rate of 66%, which tracks above the Dallas Downtown Hearing Office average of 60% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a docket of 9,002 lifetime decisions accumulated over 5 years on the bench. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting your individual hearing outcome.
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 Brounoff'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 a 5-year tenure, Judge Brounoff has maintained a steady decision pattern. Starting with a 64% approval rate in 2016, the judge reached 67% in 2018 and 2019 before settling at 66% in 2020. This consistency suggests a stable approach to evaluating your disability claim.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Brounoff'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 Brounoff? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Dallas Downtown hearing office
The Dallas Downtown Hearing Office serves a large population in Texas, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently maintains an average approval rate of 60%. Prepare for a rigorous review of your medical documentation and work history. You can see the Dallas Downtown Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Dallas Downtown Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 49% to 69%. Because of this variance, focus on the strength of your medical evidence. You can find more information on the Dallas Downtown Hearing Office page.
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.