Approval rates
Over a decade on the bench, Scott C. Firestone has presided over 12,034 lifetime decisions. His most recent reporting period shows an approval rate of 55%, which compares to the 66% average seen across the Greensboro office and the 58% national benchmark. These figures provide a statistical baseline for understanding the judge's history. 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 Firestone'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
The career trend for Scott C. Firestone shows a period of stability followed by recent fluctuations. After reaching a peak approval rate of 71% in 2017, the annual rates shifted downward, hitting a low of 47% in 2023 before moving to 58% in 2024 and 56% in 2025. This pattern suggests that while the judge's approach has evolved over his 10 years on the bench, recent decisions reflect a return toward his long-term average. These shifts often correlate with changes in case complexity or the quality of evidence presented.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Firestone'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 Firestone? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Greensboro hearing office
The Greensboro Hearing Office serves a significant volume of claimants across North Carolina. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an environment where caseloads are managed to ensure timely processing of disability claims. You can expect a formal proceeding focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can see the Greensboro Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Greensboro office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 49% to 73%. Because case assignment is outside of your control, focusing on the strength of your medical evidence is the most effective way to prepare. You can view the full roster of judges at the Greensboro 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.