Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance requires looking at both their career-long history and recent trends. Judge Horowitz has maintained a lifetime approval rate of 45% across 9,983 decisions. This figure sits below the latest office average of 53% and the national average of 58%. These numbers provide a statistical baseline for understanding the judge's history, though they do not predict 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 Horowitz'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 4 years on the bench, the approval rate for Judge Horowitz has shown fluctuations. The annual data indicates a peak of 54% in 2017, followed by 46% in 2018 and 42% in 2019. This variance suggests that your outcome is sensitive to the specific evidence and case mix presented. The latest period reflects a shift from the higher approval rates seen earlier in the judge's tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Horowitz'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 Horowitz? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Toledo OH hearing office
The Toledo OH Hearing Office serves a significant population across Ohio. With 6 judges on the bench, the office maintains an average approval rate of 53%. You can expect a formal administrative process where the quality of your medical evidence is the primary factor in a favorable decision. You can visit the Toledo OH 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Toledo OH Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 44% to 51%. While these differences exist, the core requirements for proving disability remain consistent across the entire bench.
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.