Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance against current office and national benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Wilkov has presided over 19,289 lifetime decisions during a 10-year tenure. While the latest reporting period shows an approval rate of 48%, this remains lower than the 52% office average and the 58% national average. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific 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 Wilkov'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 10-year career, the approval patterns for Judge Wilkov have shown notable shifts. After an initial period of stability, the data indicates a dip in 2019, followed by a gradual recovery. The most recent reporting period shows an approval rate of 48%, which is higher than the lifetime average of 41%. This recent uptick reflects a shift in decision-making patterns compared to earlier years on the bench.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Wilkov'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 Wilkov? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Antonio hearing office
The San Antonio Hearing Office manages a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 52%. You can expect a professional environment focused on the thorough review of medical documentation and testimony. You can visit the San Antonio Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The San Antonio Hearing Office utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the office's bench of 6 judges, lifetime approval rates vary, ranging from 39% to 51%. Because case assignment is outside of your control, focusing on the strength of your medical evidence is the most effective way to prepare for your hearing.
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.