Approval rates
Judge Scurry maintains a lifetime approval rate of 57% based on a docket of 25,955 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, your approval rate of 57% compares to an office average of 55% and a national average of 58%. This data provides a statistical baseline for understanding how cases have been decided in this courtroom over the last decade. 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 Scurry'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Scurry has demonstrated a consistent decision pattern with periodic fluctuations. While your approval rate reached a high of 61% in 2018 and 2024, it saw a low of 49% in 2021. The most recent data shows a rate of 57%, suggesting that your decision-making remains stable within your historical range. This pattern indicates that while case outcomes vary year-to-year, your approach to evaluating disability evidence has remained steady throughout your tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Scurry'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 Scurry? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Evansville hearing office
The Evansville Hearing Office serves you across the region, managing a high volume of disability cases with a bench of 6 administrative law judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 55%, reflecting the local trends in case adjudication. You should be prepared for a thorough review of your medical records and vocational history. You can see the Evansville 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 assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the 6 judges at the Evansville Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates range from 49% to 57%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence. 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.