Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Ramon Suris-Fernandez currently shows an approval rate that exceeds the NHC Baltimore office average by 27 percentage points and the national average by 18 points. These statistics are derived from a career docket of 9,683 lifetime decisions. 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 Suris-Fernandez'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 5 years on the bench, Ramon Suris-Fernandez has demonstrated a consistent trend in his decision-making. His approval rate climbed from 70% in 2016 to 81% in 2019, before reaching 79% in 2020. This trajectory suggests a stable approach to evaluating your disability claim. The latest period reflects a continuation of this pattern, indicating that his methodology for weighing medical evidence has remained reliable throughout his tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Suris-Fernandez'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 Suris-Fernandez? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Nhc Baltimore hearing office
The NHC Baltimore Hearing Office serves you and other claimants throughout Maryland and the surrounding region. It is one of two offices where Ramon Suris-Fernandez has presided, contributing to his experience with diverse case types. You can expect a review process where your medical documentation and vocational testimony are central to the hearing. You can view the full ALJ roster on the NHC Baltimore Hearing Office page.
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. Across the NHC Baltimore bench, lifetime approval rates for judges range from 46% to 81%. This variance highlights why understanding the local judicial environment is useful for your preparation. You can find more information on the NHC Baltimore 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.