Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks helps you contextualize your hearing environment. Judge Ettinger's lifetime rate of 60% is currently performing on par with the Nashville office average and slightly above the 58% national norm. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 16,874 lifetime decisions, providing a stable statistical baseline. 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 Ettinger'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 7 years on the bench, Judge Ettinger has demonstrated a consistent approach to disability adjudication. His yearly approval trends show fluctuations, ranging from a low of 56% in 2020 to a high of 65% in 2018 and 2022. This pattern suggests that while your annual rates shift, his overall decision-making remains anchored near the 60% mark. The recent data reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating a stable approach to evaluating your medical evidence and vocational factors.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ettinger'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 Ettinger? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Nashville hearing office
The Nashville Hearing Office serves a large population of claimants across Tennessee, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 ALJs. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 60%, reflecting the complex nature of the disability claims processed in this region. You can expect a formal, evidence-based proceeding where the quality of your medical documentation is paramount. You can see the Nashville 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 Nashville office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, spanning from 48% to 73%. This variance highlights why understanding the general hearing environment is more important than focusing on a single judge's statistics. You can find more information on the Nashville 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.