Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate to recent office and national benchmarks provides perspective on the hearing landscape. Judge Diaz has issued 16,229 lifetime decisions, a volume that offers a statistically significant look at their approach. While the latest reporting period shows a 76% approval rate, it is helpful to view this alongside the broader office average of 68% and the national average of 58%.
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 Diaz'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 9-year tenure, your judge has demonstrated a varied decision pattern. After an initial approval rate of 80% in 2017, the data shows a shift toward lower rates between 2019 and 2021 before trending upward again. The latest reporting period indicates a 76% approval rate, continuing the recovery seen since 2022. These fluctuations often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of evidence presented during those specific years.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Diaz'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 Diaz? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Juan hearing office
The San Juan Hearing Office serves claimants across Puerto Rico, managing a high volume of disability cases. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 68%, which provides a baseline for local hearings. You can expect a professional environment where evidence quality remains the primary factor in any decision. You can find more details on the local bench by visiting the San Juan Hearing Office page.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your judge is assigned randomly. At the San Juan Hearing Office, the bench consists of 6 judges with lifetime approval rates ranging from 43% to 83%. Because every judge has a unique approach to evaluating evidence, understanding the office-wide environment is useful for your preparation.
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.