Hard-working Ohio residents pay Social Security taxes, assuming that disability benefits will be there for them if and when they should need them. The truth is, while the Social Security Administration (SSA) makes it very easy to pay these taxes by taking them right out of your paycheck, getting those benefits when you need them isn’t quite so simple. In the State of Ohio approximately 69.7 percent of the applicants who file for Social Security Disability benefits are denied benefits during the initial stage of the application process.
If your initial disability claim is denied by the SSA, your best bet of overturning the SSA’s denial and receiving your benefits is at your disability hearing. This hearing will be processed by your local ODAR office and will be held by an Administrative Law Judge. The ODAR office that processes your hearing request will depend on the area of Ohio that you live in.
The State of Ohio has six ODAR offices that schedule hearings for Ohio disability applicants. These offices are located in the cities of Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo and Akron. Because these six offices must process disability hearings for the entire state, the processing times can be quite lengthy. Depending on which ODAR office handles your case, it can take anywhere from 265 days to 391 days for your hearing to be scheduled.
The table below outlines the approval rates and processing times for the ODAR offices in the State of Ohio as well as the national average.
| Hearing Office | Approval Rate | Processing Time in Days |
| Akron | 49.1% | 360 |
| Cincinnati | 46.9% | 391 |
| Cleveland | 47.5% | 265 |
| Columbus | 43.1% | 350 |
| Dayton | 43% | 399 |
| Toledo | 44.9% | 369 |
| National Average | 58% | 349 |
There are 82 Administrative Law Judges who hear disability cases in the State of Ohio. These judges have very different award ratios and take different approaches in how they handle the disability hearings that they are assigned. Award ratios amongst the Administrative Law Judges in Ohio range from 12.5 percent to 100 percent. The chances of your disability hearing being successful depend on a number of factors including the Administrative Law Judge that is assigned to your case and understanding what that judge needs to see in order to approve your disability benefits.
Ohio Social Security Disability lawyers are familiar with the different Administrative Law Judges in their area and know how to prepare your case and present it in the best light possible. When you work with an Ohio Social Security Disability attorney, your attorney will know which judge your case is assigned to and will be able to tailor your claim to meet the needs of that specific judge.
If you would like a free consultation with a disability attorney in Ohio, please fill out the free evaluation form provided for you on this site. The initial consultation with a disability attorney is always free and Ohio disability attorneys work on a contingency basis, collecting only 25 percent of the back pay that you are awarded by the SSA. If you do not win your case, your attorney does not collect a fee.
