Approval rates
Judge Yoder maintains a lifetime approval rate of 55%, a figure derived from a docket of 26,006 lifetime decisions over his 10-year tenure. In the most recent reporting period, his approval rate reached 58%, aligning him with the national average of 58% and matching the Evansville Hearing Office average. These statistics provide a broad view of his decision-making history. 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 Yoder'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 his 10 years on the bench, Judge Yoder has seen his approval rates fluctuate, ranging from a low of 50% in 2019 and 2020 to a high of 61% in 2017. The trend shows a recovery in recent years, with the latest period of 58% reflecting a continuation of this movement since 2022. This pattern suggests that his recent decisions are consistent with his long-term average, though yearly shifts often reflect changes in the complexity of cases assigned to the office.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Yoder'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 Yoder? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Evansville hearing office
The Evansville Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Indiana and surrounding regions, managing a high volume of cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office maintains a steady pace of adjudication, with a latest-period approval rate of 55%. You should be prepared for a formal process that prioritizes your medical evidence and vocational testimony.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to Judge Yoder is essentially random. Across the Evansville Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 49% to 57%. While these variations exist, the fundamental requirements for proving your disability remain consistent regardless of which judge is assigned to your case.
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.