Who decides cases at this office
The 16 judges at this office exhibit a wide range of approval tendencies, with individual allowance rates spanning from 22% to 88%. Because cases are assigned randomly, you cannot choose your judge, and each one weighs evidence according to their own interpretation of regulations. This variance means that your documentation must be robust enough to stand up to the most rigorous scrutiny regardless of who presides over your session.
| Rank | Judge | Approval Rate | Total Decisions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Naggi | 75% | 22,100 | |
| 2 | Michael A. Lehr | 64% | 23,254 | |
| 3 | Diana Erickson | 61% | 25,323 | |
| 4 | Jack D. McCarthy | 60% | 7,933 | |
| 5 | Christine A. Cooke | 54% | 23,425 | |
| 6 | Peter Jung | 51% | 24,189 | |
| 7 | M. S. Kidd | 50% | 5,057 | |
| 8 | Richard N. Staples | 44% | 19,006 | |
| 9 | Michael Comisky | 43% | 27,117 | |
| 10 | Joan H. Deans | 43% | 27,711 | |
| 11 | George M. Bock | 37% | 6,635 | |
| 12 | Michael Werner | 36% | 20,040 | |
| 13 | Christina Y. Mein | 34% | 26,785 | |
| 14 | Toni Neal | 34% | 2,054 | |
| 15 | Janice E. Barnes-Williams | 34% | 22,682 | |
| 16 | Scot Gulick | 34% | 24,383 | |
| 17 | Robert A. Kelly | 28% | 24,882 |
Heading to an ALJ hearing? Get a free case review to prepare for your upcoming hearing.
Free Benefits ReviewHow long you'll wait
At Kansas City, the average wait from hearing request to written decision is 7 months— versus a national average of 8 months. Here's how it's tracked month by month over the past 16 months.
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.
Going to your hearing
Hearings at this office move faster than the national norm, so you should prioritize submitting updated medical records as soon as they become available. You will typically sit with an ALJ for your hearing, during which a vocational expert will testify about your ability to perform specific jobs. Bring a detailed log of your daily activities and a list of your current medications, including any side effects that hinder your ability to work. Because the panel features a wide range of allowance rates, your file must clearly document your limitations to satisfy the most stringent reviewers. Evidence submitted at the last minute may not be fully considered, so aim to have your records complete well before the deadline.
When a panel's allowance rates span 66 points, your file has to be strong enough that no judge can dismiss it on weak documentation. Many claimants assume the hearing is a simple conversation, but the vocational expert testimony often turns on precise, technical definitions of work capacity. An attorney who understands the Kansas City panel can help you identify gaps in your medical record that might otherwise lead to a denial.
Field offices that route cases here
If your hearing is at Kansas City, your case originated at one of the SSA field offices below — the local intake counter where you (or a representative) filed the initial application. Field offices don't decide hearings, but they hold your file, issue benefit-payment notices, and field the day-to-day questions during your wait.