Judges’ Stats for Morgantown WV Social Security Hearings (Sept 2024)

Are you wondering if you got a good judge for your Morgantown WV 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 Morgantown if you have a Social Security Disability/SSI appeal and live in Ohio (East Liverpool or Steubenville); Pennsylvania (Uniontown) or West Virginia (Clarksburg, Elkins, Fairmont, Morgantown, Wheeling). The Morgantown Social Security hearing office is located on Greenbag Road in the Mountaineer Mall. 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 your Social Security Disability Hearing Lawyer would give you leading up to the hearing date.

Judges’ Statistics

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

Tip: There will be a Vocational Expert (VE) at your hearing to testify about your past work. So be ready with information about every job you’ve done in the past 15 years: how much weight you had to lift and carry, how long you had to stand all day, sit all day, etc. Basically the physical requirements of your job. The Judge will also give the VE at least one “hypothetical” – a description of a person that sounds like you who has physical and/or mental limitations. The VE will testify about whether this hypothetical person can do any job in the national economy. Most times, there are multiple hypotheticals and the judge will choose which one resembles you the most. It will sound like the VE is saying that you can work, but remember: the Judge makes the decision, the VE does not!

The Quality of Morgantown WV Social Security Hearing Judges

The Social Security Hearing Office in Morgantown WV has slightly below average judges when it comes to case approval percentages. The national average for case approval rate is 54%, and you’ll notice from the above table that the judges do approve about the average number of cases. Many people have really good experiences, because some of the judges and staff genuinely care about other people. But many have very bad experiences in Morgantown because it still is Social Security, run by the government, which is a complete and utter mess. I believe 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 would I call biased.

For example, for Morgantown WV Social Security hearings, Administrative Law Judge William R. Stanley has the lowest case approval percentage at 41%. There is certainly no evidence of bias against claimants with a rate above 40%. This rate is pretty low but there is still room to approve some people that are under 50 years of age. Click here to get more information about the rules.

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 we don’t advise it. If you do have a in-person hearing or need to submit evidence, check out the photo above from the SSA hearing office locator website. It shows that Morgantown WV Social Security Hearings are held at the Mountaineer Mall, Suite FS1, 5000 Greenbag Rd, Morgantown WV 26501. 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 Morgantown Social Security hearing office, also known as the Office of Hearing Operations, call 877-405-9197.

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 Johnstown PA Social Security Disability lawyer, no matter what stage your case is in, call us or email us and we will evaluate your case for free.