Who decides cases at this office
The panel of 6 judges at this office is consistent, with allowance rates clustered between 42% and 60%. Because the judges here operate within a narrow band, you can expect a similar standard of evidence regardless of which judge is assigned to your case. While random assignment is the rule, each judge weighs testimony differently, so your file must be prepared to meet high evidentiary standards.
| Rank | Judge | Approval Rate | Total Decisions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kerith Cohen | 56% | 14,453 | |
| 2 | Chad Gendreau | 55% | 24,035 | |
| 3 | O. P. Dodson | 54% | 18,242 | |
| 4 | William Pflugrath | 54% | 18,581 | |
| 5 | Jeffrey M. Jordan | 54% | 28,316 | |
| 6 | Stewart Goldstein | 53% | 8,900 | |
| 7 | Maryann S. Bright | 51% | 26,093 | |
| 8 | Monica L. Flynn | 50% | 14,611 | |
| 9 | William T. Vest Jr. | 49% | 9,589 | |
| 10 | Carol Matula | 49% | 24,230 | |
| 11 | Irving A. Pianin | 48% | 10,985 |
Heading to an ALJ hearing? See if you qualify for representation before your hearing.
Free Benefits ReviewHow long you'll wait
At Norfolk, the average wait from hearing request to written decision is 9 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
Your hearing will likely last about an hour, during which an ALJ will review your file and hear testimony. You should arrive with updated medical records covering the period since your initial denial, as this is the most critical evidence for your claim. Bring a detailed log of your daily activities and a list of your medications, including specific side effects that impact your ability to work. A vocational expert will often be present to testify about whether jobs exist for someone with your specific limitations. You will have the opportunity to question this expert. All new evidence must be submitted well before the hearing date, as last-minute additions are restricted. A final decision will arrive by mail in the weeks following the proceeding.
Hearings at this office move faster than they did earlier this year, leaving less time to correct gaps in your medical record. Cases that fail at this stage often do so because you did not adequately challenge the vocational expert's assumptions about available work. Identifying these vulnerabilities early helps you build a record that stands up to scrutiny.
Field offices that route cases here
If your hearing is at Norfolk, 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.