Approval rates
Judge Tjapkes maintains a lifetime approval rate of 43% based on 21,579 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, your approval rate was 40%, which is 15 percentage points lower than the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical look at past performance rather than a guarantee of future outcomes.
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 Tjapkes'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 9 years on the bench, the approval rate for Judge Tjapkes has remained relatively steady, typically hovering near the 42% to 44% range in recent years. While the 2017 and 2018 periods showed higher approval rates, the data has since stabilized. This consistency suggests a settled approach to evaluating evidence and disability criteria.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Tjapkes'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 Tjapkes? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Grand Rapids hearing office
The Grand Rapids Hearing Office serves you across Michigan and is part of a regional network handling a high volume of SSDI cases. With 6 judges on the bench, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 58%. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on medical documentation and vocational evidence. You can visit the Grand Rapids 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 a specific judge is essentially random. Across the Grand Rapids bench, lifetime approval rates for the 6 judges range from 43% to 66%. While these rates vary, the fundamental requirements for proving your disability remain consistent regardless of the judge 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.