Approval rates
Judge Palacios has issued 2,271 lifetime decisions during her 3 years on the bench. Her approval rate is currently 36 percentage points lower than the Miami office average and 27 points below the national average. These metrics are derived from historical data to provide transparency into the hearing process. 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 Palacios'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 3-year tenure, Judge Palacios has maintained a consistent decision pattern. Her approval rate was 32% in 2016, 33% in 2017, and 28% in 2018. This trend reflects a stable approach to case evaluation. Understanding these patterns helps you and your representative focus on the specific medical evidence required to support your claim.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Palacios'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 Palacios? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Miami hearing office
The Miami Hearing Office serves a significant volume of claimants throughout the region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 67%. You can expect a structured environment where clear, well-documented medical evidence is essential for a favorable outcome. You can see the Miami Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your judge is selected randomly. Within the Miami Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 31% to 83%. Because of this variance, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical documentation. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same 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.