Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Kraybill’s 56% lifetime approval rate is measured against the Oak Brook office's latest rate of 57% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a significant docket of 3,121 decisions, offering a reliable look at historical trends. 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 Kraybill'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 a two-year tenure, the approval pattern for Judge Kraybill has shown a shift from 58% in 2016 to 50% in 2017. This trend reflects a change in the volume of decisions, moving from 2,704 in the initial period to 954 in the subsequent year. Such variations are common and often result from shifts in the complexity of cases or the specific evidence presented. This pattern suggests a transition in the judge's recent caseload dynamics.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Kraybill'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 Kraybill? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Brook hearing office
The Oak Brook Hearing Office serves you and other applicants across Illinois and the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, this office manages a high volume of disability claims to ensure timely processing. The office currently maintains a latest approval rate of 57%, reflecting the broader regional trends in disability adjudication. You can see the Oak Brook Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your specific judge is selected randomly. At the Oak Brook office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 34% to 83%. This diversity highlights that the specific judge you draw can influence the procedural flow of your hearing. You can view the full roster of judges at the Oak Brook 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.