Approval rates
Judge Hurt's approval rate is currently 12 percentage points lower than the Richmond Hearing Office average and 23 points below the national average. These figures are derived from a docket of 1,235 lifetime decisions. While these numbers provide context, they do not account for the specific medical evidence or vocational factors in your file. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
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 Hurt'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 1 year on the bench, Judge Hurt has maintained a consistent approval rate of 35%. This pattern has remained steady throughout her tenure, reflecting a stable approach to evaluating disability claims. While her recent decisions align with her lifetime average, they remain distinct from the broader trends seen across the Richmond office. This consistency helps you understand the general environment of her courtroom, though each case is ultimately decided on its own merits.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hurt'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 Hurt? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Richmond hearing office
The Richmond Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Virginia, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office currently reports an approval rate of 47%. You should be prepared for a rigorous review of your medical records and work history. You can see the Richmond 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 Judge Hurt is essentially random. Across the Richmond Hearing Office, the 6 ALJs range from 18% to 57% in lifetime approval rates. Because of this variance, understanding the office-wide landscape is helpful for your claim. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same 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.