Approval rates
Understanding how a judge compares to their peers provides helpful context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Moldafsky has maintained a 36% lifetime approval rate across a docket of 13,192 decisions. This figure is compared against the latest office approval rate of 51% and the national average of 58%. These aggregate rates reflect historical data rather than predictions for your specific 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 Moldafsky'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 10-year tenure, your judge's yearly approval rates have fluctuated, ranging from a low of 27% in 2022 to a high of 45% in 2017. The most recent data shows a rate of 38% in 2025, indicating that the judge's decision-making pattern has remained relatively consistent in recent years. These trends provide a historical view of the bench and are not indicative of the outcome for your specific case.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Moldafsky'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 Moldafsky? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Nhc Falls Church hearing office
The NHC Falls Church hearing office serves you throughout the Virginia region. This office manages a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges who maintain an office-wide approval rate of 51%. You can expect a professional environment where medical documentation and vocational testimony are prioritized. You can visit the NHC Falls Church 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 you cannot request a specific judge. Within the NHC Falls Church hearing office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 ALJs range from 36% to 69%. Because you are assigned to a judge randomly, you should focus on the quality of your medical evidence. The guidance for your preparation remains the same regardless of which judge is assigned to your case.
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.