Approval rates
Judge Neel has presided over 28,728 lifetime decisions during a 10-year tenure. In the most recent reporting period, the judge recorded an approval rate of 23%, which compares to an office-wide rate of 48% and a national average of 58%. These figures highlight the variance between individual judges and broader regional or national benchmarks. Aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting your specific outcome.
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 Neel'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 decade on the bench, your judge's approval rates have shown notable shifts. After peaking at 52% in 2021, the annual approval rate has trended downward, reaching 23% in 2025. This recent period reflects a departure from the earlier, more moderate approval patterns observed between 2016 and 2020. Such trends often result from changes in the specific mix of cases assigned to a judge or evolving standards in evidence evaluation.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Neel'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 Neel? A free benefit check tells you if you qualify.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Ft Lauderdale hearing office
The Ft Lauderdale Hearing Office serves a large population in Florida, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office handles a diverse range of medical and vocational evidence. The office's latest approval rate of 48% provides a baseline for the region.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Ft Lauderdale Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 ALJs range from 36% to 68%. This variation underscores why understanding the local judicial environment is a standard part of hearing preparation.
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.