Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. While the national average approval rate currently sits at 58%, Judge Kadlec's recent data shows an approval rate of 9%. This figure is based on a significant volume of work over her 10 years on the bench, offering a stable view of her decision-making history. 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 Kadlec'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 10-year tenure, Judge Kadlec has presided over 16,608 lifetime decisions. Her approval rate has shown a downward trend in recent years, moving from higher approval levels earlier in her career to a more recent period of lower approval rates. The latest period, with a 9% approval rate, represents a continuation of this steady pattern rather than a sudden change in judicial philosophy.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Kadlec'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 Kadlec? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Orland Park hearing office
The Orland Park Hearing Office serves a large population in Illinois, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, this office handles a diverse range of cases, maintaining an office-wide latest approval rate of 46%. You can expect a structured environment where evidence quality is the primary driver of your case outcome. You can see the Orland Park 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. Across the Orland Park bench, lifetime approval rates for judges range from 28% to 63%. This variance highlights why it is important to focus on the strength of your own medical evidence regardless of your specific assignment. You can find more information on the Orland Park 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.