Approval rates
Judge Wurm has issued 25,750 lifetime decisions over his 10-year tenure. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate reached 51%, which is 3 percentage points below the San Antonio office average and 9 percentage points below the national average. These figures reflect the judge's historical approach to disability claims. 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 Wurm'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, your judge's approval rate has shown notable fluctuations. After starting with a 55% approval rate in 2016, the figures dipped to a low of 43% in 2020 and 2021 before trending upward again to 52% in 2025. This recent shift suggests a return to levels seen earlier in his career. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating that the judge's approach remains consistent with his long-term historical average.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Wurm'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 Wurm? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Antonio hearing office
The San Antonio Hearing Office serves a large population across Texas, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 52% in the latest reporting period. You should be prepared for rigorous scrutiny of your medical documentation and vocational evidence. You can see the San Antonio 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. Within the San Antonio office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 39% to 66%. Because of this variance, understanding the local office environment is a standard part of your hearing preparation. You can view the San Antonio Hearing Office page for more information on the local bench.
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.