Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. While the national average approval rate is 58%, Judge Momcilovic has maintained a 20% approval rate during the latest reporting period. This data is drawn from a docket of 22,307 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 Momcilovic'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, the approval patterns for Judge Momcilovic have shown notable shifts. After starting with a 34% approval rate in 2016, annual rates declined to a low of 10% in 2022 before reaching 22% in 2025. This fluctuation highlights the importance of current evidence quality in your claim. The latest period reflects a continuation of this pattern within the judge's established decision-making framework.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Momcilovic'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 Momcilovic? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Antonio hearing office
The San Antonio Hearing Office serves a large population across Texas, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 52%. You can expect a formal process focused on the medical documentation supporting your inability to work. You can see the San Antonio 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 your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the San Antonio Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 20% to 51%. Because of this variance, understanding the general environment of your assigned office is helpful. You can find more information on the San Antonio 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.