Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Diggs has maintained a 69% lifetime approval rate, which currently stands 11 percentage points above the national average of 58%. This data is drawn from 20,130 lifetime decisions, offering a statistically significant look at past trends. 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 Diggs'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 9 years on the bench, Judge Diggs has shown a dynamic trend in approval patterns. After a period of relative stability between 2017 and 2021, the data indicates a shift toward higher approval rates starting in 2022. This upward trend has remained consistent through the most recent reporting period. These patterns reflect an evolving approach to case evaluation, with the latest period suggesting a continuation of this higher-approval trend.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Diggs'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 Diggs? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Charleston SC hearing office
The Charleston SC Hearing Office serves you across the South Carolina region. This office manages a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges, currently reflecting an office-wide approval rate of 53%. You can expect a standardized hearing process focused on medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can see the Charleston SC 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 a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Charleston SC office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 44% to 69%. Because of this variance, understanding the office-wide environment is as important as looking at your specific judge. You can find more information on the office's overall performance on the 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.