Approval rates
Judge Silva has maintained a 64% approval rate over his 10-year tenure, a figure derived from 16,512 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate was 33%. These statistics offer a window into the judge's history, though they are not a guarantee of how your specific case will be decided. 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 Silva'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 decade on the bench, Judge Silva has seen his approval rates move through several phases. After maintaining a steady range between 59% and 68% for much of his career, the data shows a peak of 76% in 2024 followed by a recent shift in the latest reporting period. This pattern reflects the complex nature of disability hearings, where case mix and evidence quality often drive annual changes. The recent data suggests a departure from his long-term average, though it remains part of a broader, established career trajectory.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Silva'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 Silva? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Paducah hearing office
The Paducah Hearing Office serves applicants across Kentucky, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an environment where case processing is handled through standardized federal procedures. You can expect a formal hearing process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can see the Paducah 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 your assignment to Judge Silva is essentially random. Across the Paducah Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates for the bench range from 42% to 65%. Because every judge operates with different preferences for evidence and testimony, understanding the office-wide landscape is helpful. You can review the full office roster on the Paducah 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.