Pennsylvania Social Security Disability Lawyers

If you are thinking about applying for Social Security disability in Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania reveals that 43% 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.

Pennsylvania 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, 37% of Pennsylvania disability hearings result in an disability benefits being awarded.

On average, Pennsylvania residents wait 558 days for their hearing before an ALJ. Some Hearing Offices are more favorable than others.

View Social Security Offices in Pennsylvania
Disability Statistics for Pennsylvania
Office Judges Avg. Hearing Wait Time Average Processing Time Avg. Dispositions Per Day Per ALJ Cases Dismissed Cases Approved Cases Denied
Philadelphia 11 16 months 537 days 1.69 15% 35% 50%
Mars 11 16 months 552 days 1.93 50% 46% 4%
Elkins Park 14 18 months 599 days 1.97 3% 33% 64%
Wilkes-Barre 13 15 months 533 days 1.96 19% 37% 43%
Johnstown 9 16 months 547 days 1.36 16% 27% 56%
Harrisburg 10 14 months 499 days 2.44 12% 43% 46%
Philadelphia 12 16 months 538 days 1.98 22% 40% 38%
Pittsburgh 10 20 months 662 days 1.66 22% 34% 44%
All Pennsylvania 90 16 months 558 days 1.87 20% 37% 43%
ALJ Judges in Pennsylvania
Judge City of Operation Full Favorable Part Favorable Total ALJ Dispositions Total Awards Total Decisions Total Denials Total Dispositions
Noell F Allen Philadelphia 32 7 98 39 70 31 98
Nelisbeth Ball Johnstown 14 6 133 20 108 88 133
Daniel Balutis Wilkes-Barre 14 5 114 19 86 67 114
Christian Bareford Pittsburgh 25 8 122 33 97 64 122
Frank Barletta Wilkes-Barre 40 7 89 47 76 29 89
JASPER J BEDE Elkins Park 76 13 171 89 145 56 171
William J Bezego Mars 41 12 123 53 96 43 123
Eric W Borda Philadelphia 62 4 137 66 99 33 135
Stephen Bosch Philadelphia 11 2 28 13 14 1 28
Edward L Brady Wilkes-Barre 58 7 149 65 119 54 149
David F Brash Pittsburgh 35 6 142 41 90 49 142
Charles Bridges Harrisburg 55 2 87 57 69 12 87
Theodore Burock Harrisburg 46 6 124 52 97 45 124
Anne W Chain Elkins Park 26 13 83 39 74 35 83
Douglas Cohen Mars 30 20 124 50 104 54 124
Daniel F Cusick Mars 19 9 103 28 74 46 103
Malik Cutlar Philadelphia 33 10 118 43 86 43 118
Patrick S Cutter Harrisburg 89 1 155 90 120 30 155
Patricia Daum Mars 6 6 45 12 41 29 45
Matthew C Dawson Johnstown 21 7 132 28 105 77 132
Alma S de Leon Pittsburgh 38 0 78 38 54 16 78
Charles A Dominick Wilkes-Barre 32 10 132 42 101 59 132
Sarah Ehasz Pittsburgh 29 4 79 33 60 27 79
John A Fraser Johnstown 16 5 118 21 80 59 118
Margaret M Gabell Elkins Park 40 9 116 49 92 43 116
James Garrett Elkins Park 41 2 74 43 53 10 74
Paula Garrety Wilkes-Barre 22 14 124 36 97 61 124
Stuart Gauffreau Philadelphia 20 8 73 28 50 22 73
John F Gehring Elkins Park 43 4 107 47 75 28 107
Donald M Graffius Johnstown 28 8 107 36 70 34 107
Christopher P Grovich Mars 52 9 123 61 98 37 123
Richard E Guida Harrisburg 28 14 192 42 151 109 192
Therese A Hardiman Wilkes-Barre 15 0 33 15 27 12 33
Tracy Henry Johnstown 4 1 9 5 8 3 9
Ryan Hoback Elkins Park 42 5 100 47 64 17 100
Jessica M Johnson Philadelphia 21 4 114 25 75 50 114
Michael S Kaczmarek Pittsburgh 9 3 38 12 26 14 38
Howard Kauffman Harrisburg 40 5 137 45 109 64 137
Kelli J Kleeb Mars 27 9 126 36 97 61 126
John Kooser Mars 68 3 118 71 94 23 118
Paul Kovac Pittsburgh 24 11 109 35 84 49 109
Gerard W Langan Wilkes-Barre 31 6 102 37 84 47 102
Elizabeth A Lardaro Philadelphia 33 13 118 46 79 33 118
Jennifer M Lash Philadelphia 32 8 127 40 94 54 127
Jon C Lyons Philadelphia 31 6 80 37 49 12 80
Deborah Mande Elkins Park 83 7 152 90 127 37 152
Jay Marku Elkins Park 55 3 155 58 112 54 155
Vivian McAneney Elkins Park 40 11 131 51 92 41 131
Christine McCafferty Philadelphia 26 5 117 31 72 41 117
Kathleen McDade Philadelphia 8 3 51 11 26 15 51
Susannah Merritt Philadelphia 26 7 93 33 59 26 93
Sandra Morales Price Philadelphia 38 2 112 40 74 34 112
Kim Soo Nagle Johnstown 2 0 80 2 2 0 2
Lawrence J Neary Harrisburg 58 3 150 61 117 56 150
Mike Oleyar Wilkes-Barre 47 19 154 66 124 58 154
Henry Oliver Elkins Park 40 2 62 42 55 13 62
Joanna Papazekos Pittsburgh 30 1 113 31 73 42 113
Lisa B Parrish Philadelphia 19 12 166 31 114 83 166
Leslie Perry- Dowdell Pittsburgh 13 4 82 17 61 44 82
Marty R Pillion Johnstown 20 1 44 21 28 7 44
John J Porter Pittsburgh 10 3 85 13 49 36 85
Tara J Posner Philadelphia 26 12 129 38 88 50 129
Raymond Prybylski Mars 33 10 135 43 110 67 135
Randy Riley Harrisburg 39 9 190 48 169 121 190
Daniel L Rubini Elkins Park 56 4 86 60 72 12 86
Bettye L Rutledge Philadelphia 34 3 120 37 86 49 120
Robert J Ryan Philadelphia 32 7 144 39 117 78 144
Eric Schwarz Elkins Park 47 2 91 49 70 21 91
Marc Silverman Philadelphia 31 9 138 40 98 58 138
Jennifer Spector Elkins Park 53 9 133 62 110 48 133
Scott M Staller Harrisburg 53 4 176 57 140 83 176
Wayne Stanley Mars 40 3 104 43 82 39 104
Michele Stolls Wilkes-Barre 50 4 122 54 95 41 122
Melissa Tenenbaum Mars 25 16 124 41 96 55 124
Susan L Torres Harrisburg 48 8 142 56 123 67 142
Jarrod Tranguch Wilkes-Barre 25 4 125 29 93 64 125
Helen Valkavich Pittsburgh 26 11 130 37 95 58 130
Kimberly Varillo Philadelphia 36 15 148 51 100 49 148
Regina L Warren Philadelphia 14 7 77 21 48 27 77
Nycole Watson Philadelphia 17 15 105 32 67 35 105
Jonathan L Wesner Philadelphia 36 22 97 58 88 30 97
April M Wexler Johnstown 34 1 121 35 66 31 97
Timothy Wing Wilkes-Barre 39 2 107 41 82 41 107
Howard Wishnoff Philadelphia 45 0 110 45 73 28 110
Michelle Wolfe Wilkes-Barre 30 21 128 51 109 58 128
Brian W Wood Mars 25 25 125 50 93 43 125
George C Yatron Elkins Park 67 4 169 71 127 56 169
Richard Zack Wilkes-Barre 30 25 122 55 103 48 122
Raymond J Zadzilko Johnstown 47 2 78 49 58 9 78
Sharon Zanotto Harrisburg 29 4 86 33 58 25 86
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