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Updated July 2026 · SSA Public
State Profile
Texas
TX · Region DAL
DDS approval rate
38.3%
-1.5 pts vs national
DDS approval rate
38.3%
National: 39.8%
3-year change
+4.6 pts
Annual receipts
146,999
FY2024
Hearing offices
7
67 ALJs
Latest monthly DDS data · 2026-07
Initial receipts
18,164
Initial determinations
10,779
Initial allowance rate
38.1%
Initial pending
135,719
Recon determinations
4,823
Recon allowance rate
13.6%
Hearing offices in Texas
| Office | Rank | Processing days | Pending | Approval | Judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOUSTON NORTH | 12 | 231 | 4,324 | 56.1% | 9 |
| RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX | 31 | 239 | 833 | 54.7% | 3 |
| FORT WORTH | 34 | 240 | 2,718 | 58.1% | 9 |
| HOUSTON WEST | 61 | 250 | 4,212 | 53.4% | 12 |
| DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 64 | 253 | 2,745 | 58.5% | 7 |
| DALLAS NORTH OHO | 78 | 257 | 5,516 | 63.5% | 11 |
| SAN ANTONIO | 85 | 259 | 6,897 | 53.6% | 21 |
ALJs in Texas (67)
Sorted by approval rate.
| Judge | Office | Approval | Decisions | Awards | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haigler Jr., Whitfield | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 98.2% | 273 | 268 | |
| Engel, David | TULSA OHO | 90.6% | 191 | 173 | |
| Liken, Joseph | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 89.0% | 337 | 300 | |
| Gazda, Peter | SAN ANTONIO | 87.6% | 355 | 311 | |
| Thompson, Michelle | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 86.6% | 328 | 284 | |
| Walters, Charles | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 85.5% | 372 | 318 | |
| Strong, Helen F | HOUSTON WEST | 84.8% | 243 | 206 | |
| Murdock, Alexis | SAN ANTONIO | 78.8% | 283 | 223 | |
| Suing, Timothy | HOUSTON WEST | 77.3% | 22 | 17 | |
| Thames, Tammy A | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 76.0% | 333 | 253 | |
| Kinkade, Jana | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 76.0% | 337 | 256 | |
| Gutierrez, David | HOUSTON NORTH | 71.2% | 424 | 302 | |
| Phillips, Derek N. | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 69.0% | 348 | 240 | |
| Simmons, D'Lisa | HOUSTON NORTH | 68.6% | 477 | 327 | |
| Cravens, Steven L. | OKLAHOMA CITY | 66.5% | 230 | 153 | |
| Bach, Laura | HOUSTON WEST | 66.3% | 359 | 238 | |
| Burdette, Robert | HOUSTON WEST | 66.2% | 370 | 245 | |
| Lahat, Gal | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 65.0% | 240 | 156 | |
| Thomason, Samuel | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 64.5% | 256 | 165 | |
| Wilkerson, Dwight | SAN ANTONIO | 64.3% | 258 | 166 | |
| Roberts, Laura | FORT WORTH | 64.1% | 398 | 255 | |
| Williams, Harry L. | HOUSTON NORTH | 63.5% | 219 | 139 | |
| Hamner, Darren | FORT WORTH | 62.2% | 421 | 262 | |
| Shilling, Ralph F. | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 60.8% | 278 | 169 | |
| Maiben, Evelyn | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 60.1% | 361 | 217 | |
| Howard, William B | HOUSTON NORTH | 60.0% | 320 | 192 | |
| Elias, Yasmin | PHOENIX NORTH | 58.8% | 51 | 30 | |
| Carvalho, Sherrill | FORT WORTH | 58.2% | 316 | 184 | |
| McKay, Bernard J. | SAN ANTONIO | 57.1% | 401 | 229 | |
| Wyatt, Kimberly O. | RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX | 56.8% | 162 | 92 | |
| Eason, Kimani R | HOUSTON WEST | 56.6% | 355 | 201 | |
| Patel, Hiral D. | RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX | 54.1% | 427 | 231 | |
| Kim, Mark | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 53.3% | 332 | 177 | |
| Helget, Thomas J | HOUSTON NORTH | 53.3% | 458 | 244 | |
| McPhail, Robert | SAN ANTONIO | 53.2% | 327 | 174 | |
| Sauve, Michael | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 53.2% | 363 | 193 | |
| Brown, Katherine | SAN ANTONIO | 53.1% | 260 | 138 | |
| Meyer, Gerald L | HOUSTON NORTH | 53.0% | 383 | 203 | |
| Gilbert, Richard A | HOUSTON WEST | 52.7% | 383 | 202 | |
| Kirkpatrick, Melinda | SAN ANTONIO | 52.7% | 402 | 212 | |
| Kinnell, Tresie | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 52.5% | 303 | 159 | |
| Wurm, David R. | SAN ANTONIO | 52.2% | 391 | 204 | |
| Foley, David | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 51.7% | 400 | 207 | |
| Mendola, Mark | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 51.0% | 200 | 102 | |
| Hebert, David | HOUSTON NORTH | 50.7% | 335 | 170 | |
| Sampson, William | FORT WORTH | 50.0% | 2 | 1 | |
| Allen, Matthew | SAN ANTONIO | 49.4% | 421 | 208 | |
| Wheeler, Thomas | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 49.2% | 325 | 160 | |
| Boyle, Solomon | HOUSTON WEST | 48.8% | 252 | 123 | |
| Wilkov, Penny | SAN ANTONIO | 48.7% | 353 | 172 |
Showing the top 50 of 67 judges.
Next step
Estimate approval odds
See SSA historical approval base rates for a Texas claim by condition, age, and stage.