Judge Ratings for Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearings (Nov 2024)

The Quality of Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearing Judges

Good news if you have a Social Security Disability Hearing in Valparaiso! Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearing Judges have above average case approval ratings, by a whole ten percentage points. Awesome! The national average for case approval rate is 54%, and as you can see from the table below, Valparaiso IN Judges are considerably above average, namely 64%. That is very good, and claimants are lucky to have a hearing here. It appears that in Valparaiso IN every judge is above average! Even better is that they are all at or over 56%. Note: we don’t count judges with less than 50 dispositions in our assessment.

This page is for Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearings, in other words, for people who live in or near Gary, Hammond, Lafayette, Merrillville, Michigan City, South Bend, Valparaiso or Benton Harbor, MI. For other locations in Indiana click on:

• Disability Lawyer Indiana

Judge Ratings for Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearings

Are you wondering if you got a good judge for your Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearing for Disability or SSI scheduled in the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO)? Do you want to know everything you can about the where, why and how of the hearing itself? You’re not alone, most of our clients desperately want to know every detail of their Disability Hearing so that they have the best chance of winning. You might have a hearing in Valparaiso IN if you have a Social Security Disability/SSI appeal and live in or near Gary, Hammond, Lafayette, Merrillville, Michigan City, South Bend, Valparaiso or Benton Harbor, MI. The Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearing office is on Eastpoint Centre Drive right across State Road 49 from the hotels, and about a mile Southeast of Valparaiso University. Go Crusaders! You can find the name of your judge on a hearing scheduled notice or call the number for the hearing office (at the bottom of this page). Here are all the judges’ statistics and other information that you need, and if you’re looking for a Disability Lawyer serving Valparaiso IN, don’t hesitate to call us or email us and we will evaluate your case for free.

Judges’ Statistics

The following table is up to date as of November 2024:

Social Security Disability Hearing Tip: Before the Pandemic in 2020, most hearings were in-person. As a way to have no-contact hearings, the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO) created telephone hearings. The ALJ would be home, the claimant would be home, and the same with the Vocational Expert (VE) and the claimant’s lawyer, if they had one. The Judge’s clerk would use a conference call method to have everyone join the hearing. Prior to the Pandemic, SSA had gone paperless, so all of the evidence was already submitted electronically. This telephone hearing process worked so well that OHO still does almost all of their hearings by telephone! However, a claimant has an absolute right to an in-person hearing if they request it. A Disability Lawyer serving Valparaiso IN, like us, can explain in more detail what kind of hearing would work best for you. Contact us for a free consultation or more information.

Case Approval Rates of Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearing Judges

The national average for case approval rate is 54%, and Valparaiso IN Judges are at 64%. Still, many have very bad experiences in Valparaiso because it still is Social Security, run by the government, which is a complete and utter mess. And many people have really good experiences, because some of the judges and staff genuinely care about other people. The judges there are doing the best they can. Do they get decisions wrong sometimes? Of course, they are human. Only those with very low case approval rates might be called biased.

For example, for Valparaiso IN Social Security hearings, Administrative Law Judge Romona Scales has the lowest case approval rate at 56%. That is actually pretty high and surely within the bounds of reason. Judge Scales could very possibly be just a little skeptical, and if so, that is hard to fault. Reasonable minds can differ sometimes. With a judge who is approving 50% or more, they are probably even awarding some of the young people (age 20s or 30s) that have hearings in front of them.

We can also see from the table that four of the Judges are in the 60% to 74% range, so there is a significant chance you will draw one of these judges. If you draw a judge in that range then you are likely to win, but you still probably need plenty of medical evidence and preferably an opinion from a medical expert (like your doctor) that you are disabled. Make sure you get all of your relevant medical records and try to get a supporting letter from your doctor. Click here to get more information about the rules, or a Disability Lawyer serving Valparaiso IN, like us, can give you the information you need. Click here for a free case evaluation.

Where Will My Hearing Be Held?

Most hearings will be held by phone, the judge’s clerk will call your phone and place you in a conference call. The whole hearing will be held via conference call, it’s actually very efficient. If you have a lawyer the evidence is submitted electronically before the hearing.

If you don’t have a lawyer you’ll have to bring your evidence to the hearing office or mail it in. You can request an in-person hearing, but usually we don’t advise it. If you do have a in-person hearing or need to submit evidence, check the SSA hearing office locator website. The Valparaiso IN Social Security Hearing office is on 1250 Eastport Centre Drive, Valparaiso, IN 46383. You’ll go through the metal detectors – don’t bring any weapons, even a pocket knife, or they won’t let you in. Then check in with the staff and wait to be called for your hearing. If you need to reach the Valparaiso IN Social Security hearing office, also known as the Office of Hearing Operations, call (866) 873-1269.

What should I do if I need help with my hearing?

If you do not have a lawyer yet, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) presiding over your case will almost always give you a postponement to try to get a lawyer. These hearings are very difficult without a lawyer, and the ALJs rarely get the evidence they need unless a lawyer is involved. If you need a Disability Lawyer serving Valparaiso IN, no matter what stage your case is in, call us or email us and we will evaluate your case for free.