Approval rates
Judge Hajjar maintains a lifetime approval rate of 56% based on a docket of 5,159 decisions. During the most recent reporting period, her 51% approval rate stood 7 percentage points higher than the Huntington office average, though it remained 2 points below the national average. These figures provide a snapshot of her tenure, but aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific 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 Hajjar'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 3 years on the bench, Judge Hajjar has seen her annual approval rate shift from 71% in 2023 to 52% in 2025. This trend reflects changes in the volume and nature of cases processed during her tenure. While the latest period shows a rate of 51%, this remains consistent with the broader patterns observed across the Huntington office. These fluctuations often mirror changes in case mix or the quality of evidence presented in your claim.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hajjar'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 Hajjar? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Huntington WV hearing office
The Huntington WV Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across the region, managing a steady caseload with a bench of 3 judges. The office currently maintains an office-wide approval rate of 49%. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on medical evidence and vocational testimony. You can visit the Huntington WV Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. The Huntington office features a bench where lifetime approval rates range from 45% to 56%. Regardless of which judge is assigned to your case, the fundamental requirements for proving your disability remain the same. You can find more information on the Huntington WV 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.