Drew A. Swank, Richmond , Virginia Odar Office, Administrative Law Judge
For the 2010 *fiscal year, Judge Drew A. Swank has disposed 604 cases at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA. Out of those 604 dispostions, 82 were dismissed, 113 were approved and 409 were denied. This means that the percentage of depositions that Judge Drew A. Swank has approved in CHARLOTTESVILLE for the 2010 fiscal year is 21%. The information below for Judge Drew A. Swank was last updated on 04/28/2023.
AVERAGE STATISTICS
| Office | *Fiscal Year | Total Depositions | Total Decisions | Total Denials | Total Awards | Cases Dismissed | Cases Approved | Cases Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RICHMOND | 2010 | 604 | 522 | 409 | 113 | 14% | 19% | 68% |
| CHARLOTTESVILLE | 2012 | 234 | 193 | 166 | 27 | 18% | 12% | 71% |
| RICHMOND | 2012 | 302 | 229 | 190 | 39 | 24% | 13% | 63% |
| RICHMOND | 2011 | 522 | 413 | 321 | 92 | 21% | 18% | 61% |
AVERAGE TIME
| Dismissed | Approved | Denied | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drew A. Swank | No Stats for FY2011 | ||
| All ALJs in CHARLOTTESVILLE | 19% | 43% | 38% |
| All ALJs in VIRGINIA | 18% | 43% | 39% |
| All ALJs in the Nation | 18% | 45% | 38% |
15 Comments
Before you file a complaint or appeal search ‘Richmond-BristowBeat’ It has an article March 19 2012 ‘Disability claimants see injustice in judges denials’. Read it & you will see Swank defend his actions by saying “the policy originates with the chief judges office in Faifax VA” and “there is a ‘much bigger’ story than you realize but he “can’t elaborate” First of all what “policy” is he referring to?? Then realize that when you file a complaint agaist him it goes to guess who? the same Chief judges office in Fairfax that started whatever “policy” he is talking about. There is no way to get a fair shake at this scandal. I personally think the ‘bigger story policy’ is that the SSA has hired so many lazy illiterate (call SSA & see how you are treated on the phone)people that the backlog is so bad that they HAVE to turn down a lot of people because if they paid all the backpay the SSA really would be broke.
I meant over 2000mg of pain pills.. how can I drive not alone take care of children. Mine take care of me now……
I had this Judge as well and I feel all of your pain. My Lawyer knew we had won our case. He discredited all the Doctors I saw saying I was telling them what to say. Also he approved me for everything even gave me an offset date but denied me saying out of all of my jobs I could go back and work in Childcare. How? I walk with a cane and a Rollator chair. My left leg I drag and fall down a lot due to a back surgery that left me worser off. Yes he is a joke an dhe didnt have a Vocational Specialist at all in the room cliaming he has read my file over 7 times so he knows it by heart. Well no he didn’t he lied and used statements from a closed case back in 2007 and put statements in from a closed case I had two years before I was appealing the 2009 case. My Lawyer was so upset after he read over my Denial Letter we both couldn’t believe it. He lied on almost everything and put in there Doctor’s I had never seen before. I have lost everything me and my 3 kids. I pray for this man everyday because I have went to two more doctors for an opinion and they all say the same. I have severe nerve damage and no surgery would help me and I will be in pain for the rest of my LIFE. Thanks Judge for saying I can go back to work with take over 200mg of pain pills…………………….
So start the 20CFR 404.490 request for a different ALJ due to bias; refusal to recuse and you have reason number 1 for Appeals Council review and they WILL investigate allegations of bias when we all do it!!!
Swank is not a judge at all because a judges uses evidence to make a decision. This jerk does whatever he wants & dis-credits doctors because he can get away with it. I think he used to be a military lawyer so then & now he doesn’t mind taking a check from the government but thinks nobody else deserves what they have worked years for. He did this to me and now I can’t even find a lawyer who wants to ‘waste their time’ because they don’t want to deal with Swank. We all need to find somebody smart enough to start a lawsuit or whatever possible to re-hear our cases. I lost over $40,000 in backpay because of this clown and my house,etc. I also heard that he has been moved to the Charlottesville region from Richmond–Anybody know for sure??
Nice article recently written by ALJ Swank which documents his bias towards non-attorneys. I’m sure SSA will turn a blind eye. He pretends in this article to be concerned about the Claimant’s. I find it amusing that the law and agency policy completely disagrees with ALJ Swank who believes he is smarter than everyone else. ALJ Swank is a bias judge.
i went before Judge Swank yesterday, and was warned before hand by my attorney that he was a pompase ***, sarcastic and has a god complex. I have been fighting for my disability now for almost 4 years, and my lawyer said my case was a slam dunk, until we found out what judge was assined to my case. They are already working on the appeal even before we left the hearing. Sad how many people wait so long for a hearing only to draw this judge. I am praying that my disability is approved, but knowing his stats, I wont get my hopes up. Problem is my attorney tells me it could take up to a year and a half to get the appeal, then I have to go in front of him AGAIN! if he denies it again, then another year or so wait then I can get another judge, but in the meantime my family is really suffering financially, and I am helpless to do anything about it.
Swank wrote an article in volume 36 of the Southern Illinois University Law Journal titled “Non-Attorney Social Security Disability Representatives And The Unauthorized Practice of Law.” This article is completely biased and disrespectful to non-attorney representatives. Swank is truly generalizing. I am surprised that any legitimate journal would allow such rubbish to be posted. He makes comments about non-attorney representatives that can just as easily be applied to attorney representatives. Swank’s approval rating is offensive to the system, which shows he likely needs to get a psychiatric evaluation himself. I feel for the unlucky people that must go before him.
Judge Swank is a JOKE. He should not be on the bench. In my case based on his opening remarks, he was clearly was prejudice. I was instructed how to respond to his questions, i.e. yes or no. Then he denied access to a vocational specialist, which would have help my case. SOME ONE NEEDS TOP THROW HIM OFF THE BENCH. I wish he would have to apply for SSA Disability benefits. I HATE THIS PERSON. I work for over 30 years and have this clown degrade me over benefits that I paid for. ONLY IN AMERICA
anyone else shocked that Swank’s approval rate is that high?