Florida Social Security Disability Lawyers

If you are thinking about applying for Social Security disability in Florida, then you should weigh the benefits of hiring an attorney. An experienced Social Security disability lawyer can significantly improve the odds that your case will be approved.

Social Security data from Florida reveals that 45% of the Social Security disability claims are denied on average. Of course, most applicants that have been denied on their first attempt appeal the decision. However, the chances of approval are even worse in the first phase of the appeals process, which is formally known as reconsideration.

The vast majority of claimants will have to wait until their hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) to have a significant chance of approval.

Florida has 8 Hearing Offices where you can go to have your case heard by an ALJ. They are listed in the above table.

Most successful Social Security disability claims are approved during the hearing, largely because the ALJs have more leeway in the way they handle claims and can actually see and hear you while you present evidence of your disability.

Overall, 36% of Florida disability hearings result in an disability benefits being awarded.

On average, Florida residents wait 559 days for their hearing before an ALJ. Some Hearing Offices are more favorable than others.

View Social Security Offices in Florida
Disability Statistics for Florida
Office Judges Avg. Hearing Wait Time Average Processing Time Avg. Dispositions Per Day Per ALJ Cases Dismissed Cases Approved Cases Denied
Tallahassee 8 13 months 466 days 1.53 27% 25% 48%
St. Petersburg 12 16 months 544 days 2.13 11% 34% 55%
Ft. Myers 6 12 months 451 days 2.01 13% 40% 47%
Tampa 17 18 months 625 days 1.98 17% 51% 32%
Fort Lauderdale 20 18 months 597 days 1.43 44% 27% 29%
Jacksonville 17 20 months 617 days 1.44 16% 30% 54%
Miami 10 17 months 578 days 1.79 9% 38% 53%
Orlando 16 18 months 592 days 1.93 12% 45% 42%
All Florida 106 17 months 559 days 1.78 19% 36% 45%
ALJ Judges in Florida
Judge City of Operation Full Favorable Part Favorable Total ALJ Dispositions Total Awards Total Decisions Total Denials Total Dispositions
James P Alderisio St. Petersburg 90 9 190 99 160 61 190
Sylvia H Alonso Fort Lauderdale 27 9 185 36 141 105 185
Thurman Anderson Fort Lauderdale 74 7 133 81 102 21 133
James Andres Fort Lauderdale 44 2 93 46 75 29 93
Eric Anschuetz Ft. Myers 36 7 130 43 102 59 130
Clara H Aranda Miami 13 0 48 13 27 14 48
Charles J Arnold Ft. Myers 86 6 125 92 105 13 125
Robert Ballieu Tampa 40 3 91 43 76 33 91
K. Barlow Jacksonville 25 3 86 28 56 28 86
Mary Brennan Fort Lauderdale 35 16 141 51 109 58 141
Michael Calabro Orlando 5 0 18 5 5 0 18
Stephen C Calvarese Jacksonville 26 5 95 31 83 52 95
Steven L. Carnes Tallahassee 23 0 39 23 34 11 39
Michael Carr Fort Lauderdale 0 0 115 0 1 1 1
James C Cartledge Miami 72 10 185 82 141 59 185
Gracian A Celaya Miami 47 7 133 54 100 46 133
Yelanda Collins Jacksonville 45 15 106 60 85 25 106
Arline Colon St. Petersburg 7 7 71 14 51 37 71
Margaret Craig Tampa 46 5 103 51 82 31 103
Sarah Cyrus Fort Lauderdale 42 2 87 44 68 24 87
Rossana L D'Alessio Fort Lauderdale 76 6 142 82 123 41 142
John Dawkins Tampa 45 9 145 54 129 75 145
Elizabeth De Gruy Miami 1 0 48 1 3 2 3
Joseph F Dent St. Petersburg 24 6 137 30 113 83 137
Kevin J Detherage Orlando 25 10 106 35 76 41 106
Andrew Dixon III Tallahassee 59 15 115 74 99 25 115
Amber Downs Tampa 28 9 104 37 82 45 104
Robert Droker Jacksonville 24 2 99 26 77 51 99
Kurt G Ehrman Tampa 38 5 138 43 118 75 138
Kathleen H Eiler Orlando 13 10 82 23 65 42 82
Jeffrey A Ferguson Orlando 38 25 135 63 111 48 135
Kelley Fitzgerald Jacksonville 37 10 118 47 96 49 118
Gregory J Froehlich Jacksonville 28 3 70 31 60 29 70
Eric S. Fulcher Orlando 48 15 159 63 122 59 159
Richard P Gartner St. Petersburg 57 1 132 58 99 41 132
Robert Gill Fort Lauderdale 41 3 94 44 62 18 94
Laurel J Greene St. Petersburg 81 4 111 85 98 13 111
William H Greer Jacksonville 30 1 96 31 68 37 96
M. Hart Jacksonville 16 11 74 27 63 36 74
Joshua R Heller Tallahassee 51 18 108 69 90 21 108
Norman Hemming Miami 49 4 126 53 98 45 126
David Herman Tallahassee 28 11 109 39 83 44 109
Richard Hlaudy Jacksonville 0 1 95 1 3 2 3
Mark Hockensmith Jacksonville 31 2 105 33 67 34 88
Pamela Houston Orlando 37 8 156 45 119 74 156
Lloyd E Hubler III St. Petersburg 31 4 147 35 102 67 147
Wendy Hunn Fort Lauderdale 49 10 131 59 98 39 131
Valencia Jarvis Fort Lauderdale 3 6 43 9 34 25 43
Ryan Johannes Ft. Myers 74 10 149 84 129 45 149
Paul L Johnston Tampa 110 3 146 113 123 10 146
Emily Kirk Orlando 33 10 111 43 97 54 111
Ryan Kirzner Tampa 59 1 162 60 127 67 160
Guy Koster Jacksonville 27 3 84 30 47 17 84
Barry C LaBoda Orlando 54 5 91 59 67 8 91
Lissette Labrousse Fort Lauderdale 0 0 10 0 3 3 10
Robert J Labrum Fort Lauderdale 0 0 74 0 1 1 1
Bruce Landrum Jacksonville 25 4 80 29 56 27 80
Tracey B Leibowitz Miami 55 4 183 59 133 74 183
Janet Mahon Orlando 63 7 159 70 112 42 159
Maria T Mandry Orlando 61 9 122 70 116 46 122
Lisa B Martin Fort Lauderdale 0 0 118 0 3 3 3
Shirley A Marzan Tampa 56 4 103 60 86 26 103
Janet McCamley Tallahassee 45 6 102 51 79 28 102
Carl C McGhee Tampa 50 5 105 55 81 26 105
Melissa J McIntosh Tampa 75 15 151 90 136 46 151
John D McNamee-Alemany St. Petersburg 98 1 128 99 112 13 128
Jr., John M Meisburg Jacksonville 66 3 111 69 93 24 111
Scott T Miller St. Petersburg 9 0 17 9 12 3 17
Angela L Neel Orlando 45 3 172 48 127 79 172
Maria C Northington Ft. Myers 49 5 98 54 87 33 98
Julio Ocampo Orlando 16 0 16 16 16 0 16
Richard J Ortiz-Valero Fort Lauderdale 50 5 128 55 93 38 128
Stacy Paddack Tallahassee 40 24 95 64 73 9 95
Robin R Palenske Fort Lauderdale 0 0 53 0 0 0 1
Denise Pasvantis Fort Lauderdale 50 3 129 53 105 52 129
Carol J Pennock Miami 29 1 72 30 41 11 72
Jose Perez-Gonzalez Fort Lauderdale 50 1 93 51 67 16 93
Jr., Daniel A Piloseno Tampa 64 3 100 67 83 16 100
Bernard Porter Jacksonville 19 7 98 26 66 40 98
Lisa Raleigh Tallahassee 30 8 80 38 67 29 80
Lornette Reynolds Miami 23 15 114 38 82 44 114
Raymond Rodgers Ft. Myers 88 5 179 93 150 57 179
Michael A Rodriguez Tampa 19 5 57 24 49 25 57
E Rodriguez-Quilichini Orlando 47 3 127 50 87 37 127
R. Dirk Selland Tampa 26 1 75 27 61 34 75
Steven D Slahta Tampa 67 9 125 76 101 25 125
Donald G Smith St. Petersburg 71 11 192 82 166 84 192
Anne V Sprague St. Petersburg 37 2 128 39 84 45 128
Jonathan Sprague Fort Lauderdale 62 13 132 75 113 38 132
Emily R Statum Orlando 55 6 129 61 98 37 129
Alisa M Tapia Tallahassee 10 13 75 23 52 29 75
Pedro Tejada-Rivera Orlando 55 2 121 57 95 38 116
Ken B Terry Jacksonville 32 2 75 34 66 32 75
Jr., John D. Thompson Jacksonville 27 2 98 29 74 45 98
Michelle Thompson Fort Lauderdale 2 0 93 2 2 0 2
Elving L Torres St. Petersburg 36 8 147 44 126 82 147
Brian Turner Fort Lauderdale 89 5 142 94 114 20 142
Gonzalo Vallecillo Tampa 32 19 152 51 120 69 152
Douglas A Walker Orlando 44 6 119 50 86 36 119
Melissa Warner Jacksonville 21 3 101 24 37 13 63
Glen H. Watkins Tampa 18 8 156 26 119 93 156
Ena Weathers Miami 18 7 80 25 51 26 68
Rebecca Wolfe Miami 46 3 123 49 104 55 123
Duane D Young Ft. Myers 14 4 32 18 27 9 32
Norman R Zamboni St. Petersburg 51 2 105 53 74 21 105
Barbara J Zanotti Tampa 24 6 79 30 64 34 79
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