All markets
Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · OH

Strong market

Ohio.

Roughly 81,533 new disability claims are filed in Ohio each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $113M annually.

Annual DDS intake

81,533

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

36.2%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

252 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$113M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

Judges currently on the bench in Ohio hearing offices, sorted by favorable decision rate. Use these to prioritize which office a case is assigned to, where permissible.

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Vitellio, Gabrielle R.TOLEDO OH84.7%314
Southern, HeidiDAYTON79.9%309
Aliberti, LouisCLEVELAND79.2%288
Barnes, KevinDAYTON78.1%333
Hockensmith, MarkSPECIAL REVIEW CADRE74.0%173

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • AKRON OH234 days
  • CLEVELAND240 days
  • CINCINNATI243 days

Slowest

  • DAYTON282 days
  • COLUMBUS262 days
  • TOLEDO OH249 days

Methodology · Figures reflect SSA public data through the latest release. Fee pool estimates annualize DDS intake at a conservative 20% retention rate with a 75% cap hit on retained backpay — not a performance guarantee. Approval rates describe historical decisions, not likelihoods on individual cases.