Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance against current office and national benchmarks provides a clearer picture of the local hearing environment. While the national average approval rate currently sits at 58%, Judge Collins has maintained a lifetime rate of 45% over his 10-year career. These figures are derived from a significant docket of 21,340 decisions, offering a stable view of his historical decision-making. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
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 Collins'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Collins has maintained a steady approval pattern. His annual approval rates have fluctuated within a moderate range, starting at 39% in 2016 and reaching 46% in the most recent reporting period. This consistency suggests a stable approach to evaluating your evidence and medical documentation. While recent periods show slight variations, the overall trend reflects a continuation of his established decision-making habits.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Collins'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 Collins? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Louisville hearing office
The Louisville Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Kentucky and surrounding areas, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an environment where evidence quality and medical records are central to every hearing. You can expect a formal process focused on the specific requirements of your impairment. See the Louisville 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 Louisville Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 45% to 57%. This variance highlights why your preparation remains the most critical factor in your hearing, regardless of which judge is assigned to your case. You can find more information on the Louisville 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.