Approval rates
Comparing a judge's history to broader trends provides context for your upcoming hearing. While the Orland Park office maintains a recent approval rate of 46%, Judge Giesen's latest reporting period shows an 11% approval rate. This data is drawn from 18,005 lifetime decisions, offering a look at her tenure. 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 Giesen'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 her 9 years on the bench, Judge Giesen has presided over 18,005 lifetime decisions. Her approval rate has trended from 45% in 2017 to 11% in the most recent reporting period. These trends are useful for understanding the environment of your hearing, though every case is unique.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Giesen'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 Giesen? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Orland Park hearing office
The Orland Park hearing office serves you and other claimants across the Illinois region. It is staffed by 6 judges who manage a high volume of disability claims. With an office-wide latest approval rate of 46%, it remains a critical hub for local residents seeking benefits. You can visit the Orland Park 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Across the Orland Park bench, the 6 ALJs range from 26% to 63% in lifetime approval rates, highlighting the variance you may encounter. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.