Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance to current office and national benchmarks provides context for your hearing environment. Judge Driscoll has maintained a 50% approval rate across a significant docket of 13,283 lifetime decisions. While this rate currently trails the 53% office average and the 58% national average, these figures represent historical trends rather than a fixed outcome for your case. 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 Driscoll'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, Judge Driscoll's approval patterns have shown notable shifts. After an initial 60% approval rate in 2016, the data reflects a period of fluctuation, including a 54% rate in 2020 followed by a decline in subsequent years. These variations often stem from changes in case complexity or the specific evidence you present in a given year. You can find more information on the Boston Hearing Office page.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Driscoll'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 Driscoll? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Boston hearing office
The Boston Hearing Office serves a large population across Massachusetts, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 53%. You should be prepared for a rigorous review of your medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can see the Boston 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 is essentially random. Within the Boston Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 37% to 65%. Because of this variance, understanding the general environment of the office is useful for your preparation. You can view the full roster of judges on the Boston 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.