Approval rates
Evaluating a judge's history requires looking at the broader context of their career. Judge Onderak has presided over 18,343 lifetime decisions, providing a substantial data set to observe decision trends. While the latest reporting period shows an approval rate of 56%, this is compared against the Evansville office average of 55% and the national average of 58%. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
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 Onderak'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 approval rate has shifted from 46% in 2016 to 58% in 2025. This upward trend suggests a change in the types of cases heard or the evidence presented in the courtroom. The latest period reflects a continuation of this pattern, moving closer to national norms after a period of lower approval rates between 2019 and 2020. These fluctuations are common in long-term judicial careers and often mirror changes in case complexity.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Onderak'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 Onderak? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Evansville hearing office
The Evansville Hearing Office serves a significant population of claimants across Indiana, managing a high volume of disability cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an environment focused on processing complex medical and vocational evidence. You can expect a formal proceeding where documentation is the primary driver of the outcome. You can visit the Evansville 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. Within the Evansville office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 ALJs range from 49% to 57%. Regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing, the fundamental requirements for proving disability remain consistent.
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.