Approval rates
Judge Mastrangelo's approval rate is evaluated against the latest office and national benchmarks to provide context for your hearing. While the national average sits at 58%, his recent reporting period shows an approval rate of 49%. With a career spanning 24,181 lifetime decisions, the data offers a stable look at his historical decision-making. 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 Mastrangelo'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 years on the bench, Judge Mastrangelo has seen his approval rate shift from 35% in 2016 to 50% in 2025. The trend shows a gradual increase in approvals during the middle of his tenure, followed by recent stabilization. While his latest approval rate of 49% is lower than the office average, it reflects a continuation of his established decision-making patterns. These fluctuations often mirror changes in case complexity or the specific evidence presented in your file.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Mastrangelo'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 Mastrangelo? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Providence hearing office
The Providence Hearing Office serves you across Rhode Island and surrounding areas, managing a high volume of disability cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 57%, which is slightly below the national average. You can expect a professional environment where the quality of your medical documentation remains the primary factor in any decision. You can see the Providence 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 assignment to Judge Mastrangelo is essentially random. Approval rates across the 6 judges at the Providence Hearing Office vary significantly, ranging from 32% to 74% over their respective careers. This variance highlights why focusing on your own medical evidence is the most effective strategy. 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.