Approval rates
When evaluating your claim, it is helpful to look at how a judge's history compares to broader benchmarks. Judge Busick’s 72% lifetime approval rate stands out against the 54% latest approval rate for the Salt Lake City office and the 58% national average. This data is derived from a docket of 25,417 lifetime decisions. 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 Busick'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 8 years on the bench, Judge Busick has maintained a consistent approach to disability claims. His yearly trend shows stability, with approval rates remaining in the 70% range for much of his tenure, despite a dip in 2021 and 2022. The most recent data from 2023 shows a return to a 72% approval rate, suggesting that his decision-making pattern has remained steady over time.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Busick'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 Busick? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Salt Lake City hearing office
The Salt Lake City Hearing Office serves you throughout Utah and the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a high volume of cases. The office currently reports a 54% latest approval rate, which serves as a benchmark for the region. You can visit the Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 28% to 72%. Because of this variance, the specific judge assigned to your case can influence the procedural flow of your hearing.
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.