Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate to recent office and national benchmarks provides a helpful perspective on the hearing landscape. Judge Ramsey has maintained a consistent record across 13,051 lifetime decisions, offering a significant data set for analysis. While his latest approval rate of 66% is notable, it is essential to view this alongside the broader office average of 53% and the national average of 58%. These figures reflect historical trends rather than specific outcomes for your case.
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 Ramsey'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 his 10-year tenure, Judge Ramsey has demonstrated a steady approach to disability adjudication. His yearly approval trends show a gradual evolution, moving from 45% in 2016 to 70% in 2025. This trajectory suggests a judge who has refined his decision-making process over thousands of cases. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating that his current approach is well-established within the context of his long-term career.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ramsey'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 Ramsey? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Boston hearing office
The Boston Hearing Office serves a diverse population across Massachusetts, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office operates within a complex regional framework that handles thousands of hearings annually. The office-wide latest approval rate of 53% provides a baseline for what you can expect when navigating the local system. You can visit the Boston 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Boston Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 37% to 65%. This variance highlights why understanding the general environment of your hearing office is more important than focusing on any single peer. You can find more information on the Boston 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.