Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance to current office and national benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Meyers has maintained a record over 9 years on the bench, with a lifetime approval rate of 37%. This figure is measured against the latest office approval rate of 58% and the national average of 58%. These statistics are derived from a docket of 15,145 lifetime decisions. 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 Meyers'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 9-year tenure, Judge Meyers has presided over 15,145 lifetime decisions. The yearly trend shows a pattern of approvals, with fluctuations between 31% and 45% over the course of his career. While the most recent reporting period shows an approval rate of 45%, the lifetime average remains a stable indicator of his historical decision-making. This trend reflects his approach to evaluating evidence and disability criteria over time.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Meyers'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 Meyers? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Seattle hearing office
The Seattle Hearing Office serves a broad population across Washington, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an overall approval rate that reflects the regional caseload and complexity of claims. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can visit the Seattle 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 chosen randomly. Within the Seattle Hearing Office, the bench consists of 6 judges whose lifetime approval rates range from 27% to 66%. This variance highlights why it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence regardless of the judge 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.