Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to regional and national benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Hugar’s lifetime approval rate of 62% is evaluated against the latest office-wide, state, and national data to understand his decision-making history. With 21,671 decisions rendered, this data set offers a stable view of his 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 Hugar'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 his 10-year tenure, Judge Hugar has shown an upward trend in approval rates. Starting at 41% in 2016, the rate climbed to 81% in 2024 and was 79% in 2025. This shift reflects changes in the cases heard or the evidentiary standards applied over time. The latest period continues this high-approval pattern compared to his earlier years on the bench.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hugar'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 Hugar? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Denver hearing office
The Denver Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Colorado, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 62%. When you appear here, be prepared for a formal administrative process focused on medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can find more information on the Denver Hearing Office page.
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 Denver Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 45% to 62%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your medical evidence. 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.