Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate against current office and national benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Ryan maintains a lifetime approval rate of 45%, while the latest reporting period shows a 47% approval rate. This sits 13 percentage points below the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a significant docket of 17,475 lifetime decisions, offering a stable view of his historical decision-making.
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 Ryan'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 9-year tenure, Judge Ryan has presided over 17,475 decisions. His yearly approval rate has fluctuated, showing a low of 40% in 2023 and a recent trend of 48% in 2025. This pattern suggests a steady approach to case evaluation, with the most recent data showing a slight uptick compared to his career average.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ryan'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 Ryan? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Philadelphia hearing office
The Philadelphia Hearing Office serves a large population across Pennsylvania, managing a high volume of disability claims. With 6 judges currently on the bench, the office maintains an active docket to address the needs of local claimants. The office-wide latest approval rate is 55%, which provides a baseline for the region.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Across the Philadelphia bench, lifetime approval rates for judges range from 41% to 70%. While some judges may approve more cases than others, 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.