Joel G Fina, Orland park , Illinois Odar Office, Administrative Law Judge
For the 2010 *fiscal year, Judge Joel G Fina has disposed 550 cases at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in OAK BROOK, ILLINOIS. Out of those 550 dispostions, 52 were dismissed, 330 were approved and 168 were denied. This means that the percentage of depositions that Judge Joel G Fina has approved in OAK BROOK for the 2010 fiscal year is 15%. The information below for Judge Joel G Fina 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OAK BROOK | 2010 | 550 | 498 | 168 | 330 | 9% | 60% | 31% |
| ORLAND PARK | 2010 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0% | 50% | 50% |
| OAK BROOK | 2012 | 564 | 505 | 195 | 310 | 10% | 55% | 35% |
| OAK BROOK | 2015 | 467 | 399 | 167 | 232 | 15% | 50% | 36% |
| OAK BROOK | 2014 | 454 | 400 | 139 | 261 | 12% | 57% | 31% |
| OAK BROOK | 2013 | 525 | 468 | 177 | 291 | 11% | 55% | 34% |
| OAK BROOK | 2011 | 536 | 486 | 172 | 314 | 9% | 59% | 32% |
| OAK BROOK | 2016 | 448 | 378 | 144 | 234 | 16% | 52% | 32% |
| OAK BROOK | 2017 | 422 | 361 | 99 | 262 | 14% | 62% | 23% |
| OAK BROOK | 2018 | 145 | 121 | 42 | 79 | 17% | 54% | 29% |
| OAK BROOK | 2019 | 369 | 306 | 114 | 192 | 17% | 52% | 31% |
| OAK BROOK | 2020 | 288 | 244 | 112 | 132 | 15% | 46% | 39% |
AVERAGE TIME
| Dismissed | Approved | Denied | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joel G Fina | No Stats for FY2020 | ||
| All ALJs in OAK BROOK | 14% | 49% | 37% |
| All ALJs in ILLINOIS | 17% | 43% | 40% |
| All ALJs in the Nation | 18% | 45% | 38% |
5 Comments
The first thing my lawyer told me about this judge was that he is a fair judge but not a pushover. That was my impression during my hearing as well. He seemed very no-nonsense and even cut me off a few times. Tbh I was sure the hearing went poorly, but in the end I was extremely thankful and relieved to get an approval.
I sustained irreversible brain damage due to a personal injury. It was diagnosed by a team of doctors based on brain imaging, EEG and neuropsychological testing. For some unknown reason, he invited a psychologist to review my claim. The psychologist over ruled my medical team and concluded I had a psychosomatic illness and my symptoms were all in my head. Despite having a MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. The judge deferred to the incompetent psychologist opinion over the hundreds of pages of medical documentation that states without question I DO NOT HAVE a psychosomatic illness. It also is well known that court appointed mental health consultants cannot comment on the cause of physical symptoms. That is a medical doctors job.
I sustained irreversible brain damage due to a personal injury. It was diagnosed by a team of doctors based on brain imaging, EEG and neuropsychological testing. For some unknown reason, he invited a psychologist to review my claim. The psychologist over ruled my medical team and concluded I had a psychosomatic illness and my symptoms were all in my head. Despite having a MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. The judge deferred to the incompetent psychologist opinion over the hundreds of pages of medical documentation that states without question I DO NOT HAVE a psychosomatic illness.
He “throws the baby out with the bathwater.” If anything you say doesn’t match up, no matter how miniscule, he seizes on it and calls you a liar in fancy legalese. And apparently people seeking disability are not disabled and can work an 8 hour day, 40 hour week (as defined by SS law) if they use a smartphone―according to his accusatory comments. Never mind apps for the disabled; large keyboards, speech to text, just having a smartphone is a no no as well as a PC. I’m still wondering why an Illinois Republican SS judge is hearing State cases in Indiana and from a video feed in Illinois?
His high approval rate is smoke and mirrors, a lot of his cases don’t even show up and those are not factored in. The stats also only reflect his cases in Illinois, not other States like Indiana that he rents himself out to. He also discredits State agencies which is disturbing considering he is not even an Indiana judge and really has no idea how it differs from Illinois except maybe on paper. He also discredits Primary Care doctors the same way as a claimant, by nickle and diming their statements and making partial claims of claimant statements without expanding on what the claimant said afterwards. For example, if someone says that they use a smartphone but use apps to help the disabled, he leaves out that you use apps for the disabled and says you use a smartphone as if that in and of itself is a disqualifier. Or if your doctor says you are disabled, he will find in your record the one time you said you were feeling a bit better and latch onto that as meaning that it’s permanent and that you can work 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week and that your doctor is unreliable.
Oh and this post was created by speech to text, God forbid he thinks someone can type for 10 minutes, then they must be able to work! Truth be told it seems these SS Judges are the prime beneficiaries of SS funds through their exorbitant salaries, and not the people who it’s actually there for. *Fina’s public sector salary info is out there and it’s an insult to taxpayers and he is but one judge.
*In 2016, Joel G. Fina was an Administrative Law Judge at the Social Security Administration in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. began working at the Social Security Administration in 2006 with a starting salary of $115,555. Since then, Fina’s salary has increased to $170,400 in 2016
It my belief he pays more attention to social security doctors then claiments personal doctors who know claiments cases , its my hope he would realize people need to be given fair unbias decisions to his cases.