Approval rates
Judge ODonnell's lifetime approval rate of 53% provides a baseline for understanding her decision history over the last 9 years. Compared to the most recent reporting period, her approval rate is 4 percentage points lower than the Flint office average and 5 percentage points below the national average. These figures are derived from a docket of 16,720 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 ODonnell'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 her 9-year tenure, your judge's approval rate has shifted from 71% in 2016 toward a more consistent pattern in recent years. After a period of decline between 2017 and 2020, the rate stabilized, with a fluctuation in 2022 before returning to a 49% approval rate in 2024. This trend suggests a steady approach to case evaluation that has remained relatively consistent. The recent data reflects a continuation of this established decision-making pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge ODonnell'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 ODonnell? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Flint hearing office
The Flint Hearing Office serves residents across Michigan and manages a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an overall latest approval rate of 57%. You can expect a professional environment where the focus remains on the medical evidence and vocational testimony presented during your hearing. You can visit the Flint 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Across the Flint Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 43% to 60%. Because each judge brings a unique perspective to the evidence, understanding the office-wide landscape is helpful. For preparation purposes, the 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.