Approval rates
Judge Grounds has issued 8,653 lifetime decisions, providing a data set for understanding her approach to Social Security Disability Insurance claims. Her lifetime approval rate of 57% is measured against the latest office, state, and national averages to provide context for your hearing. These figures reflect historical trends rather than a guarantee of future outcomes. 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 Grounds'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 Grounds has shown a varied decision pattern. After an initial period of fluctuation, her approval rates remained relatively steady between 60% and 65% for several years. The most recent reporting period shows an uptick to 79%, which diverges from her long-term average. This recent shift may reflect changes in case mix or the quality of evidence presented in recent hearings.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Grounds'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 Grounds? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Covington GA hearing office
The Covington GA Hearing Office serves a large population of claimants throughout Georgia. This office manages a high volume of cases, with a bench of 6 judges who handle thousands of hearings annually. The office's latest approval rate of 68% provides a baseline for the region. You can see the Covington GA 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Across the Covington GA office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 40% to 71%. While individual judges may have different tendencies, the core requirements for proving disability remain consistent. The guidance for your preparation is the same regardless of which judge is 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.