Approval rates
Judge Winters holds a 31% lifetime approval rate across 18,199 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, her approval rate was 20%, which is 27 percentage points below the national average of 58%. These figures provide a statistical snapshot of past activity 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 Winters'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, the approval rate for Judge Winters has typically fluctuated between 24% and 38% annually. While her 2025 rate of 20% shows a recent decline, her career-long consistency across 18,199 lifetime decisions suggests a stable approach to case evaluation. This pattern indicates that the judge relies heavily on the specific medical documentation presented in your file.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Winters'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 Winters? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Toledo OH hearing office
The Toledo OH Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across the region, managing a high volume of disability cases. The office maintains an office-wide approval rate of 53%, which provides a baseline for the local bench. You should expect a formal process focused on the rigorous application of Social Security Administration guidelines. You can see the Toledo OH 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 Winters is essentially random. Within the Toledo OH Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the six judges range from 31% to 51%. Because of this variance, the specific judge you draw can influence the statistical probability of your outcome.
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.