Approval rates
Judge VanderHeide maintains a lifetime approval rate of 65%, which compares favorably against the latest 56% office average and the 58% national benchmark. These statistics are derived from 21,594 lifetime decisions over her 9-year tenure. By reviewing these trends, you can better understand the historical context of your upcoming 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 VanderHeide'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 her 9 years on the bench, Judge VanderHeide has demonstrated a varied approval pattern. After a period of decline between 2018 and 2021, her approval rates have trended upward, reaching 74% in the most recent reporting period. This recent shift reflects a departure from her earlier mid-tenure outcomes.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge VanderHeide'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 VanderHeide? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Detroit hearing office
The Detroit Hearing Office serves a large population across Michigan, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office currently reports an average approval rate of 56%. You can visit the Detroit Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Detroit Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 43% to 75%. Because of this variance, understanding the landscape of your local office is a standard part of your case preparation.
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.