BVA decisions by condition
Varicose veins: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a varicose veins issue in 1,602 decisions. It granted the varicose veins issue in 20.4% of them, close to the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 36.4%, and remanded it in 44.8%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 35.9% were granted.
Decisions
1,602
2017–2026
Granted
20.4%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
35.9%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
44.8%
Denied: 36.4%
Varicose veins outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 173 | 17.3% | 37.0% | 40.5% | 5.2% |
| 2018 | 250 | 14.8% | 37.6% | 44.8% | 2.8% |
| 2019 | 223 | 20.6% | 41.7% | 36.8% | 0.9% |
| 2020 | 270 | 22.2% | 39.3% | 37.4% | 1.1% |
| 2021 | 228 | 18.4% | 39.5% | 41.7% | 0.4% |
| 2022 | 215 | 27.0% | 30.2% | 40.9% | 1.9% |
| 2023 | 229 | 18.8% | 25.3% | 54.1% | 1.7% |
| 2024 | 237 | 21.9% | 33.3% | 44.3% | 0.4% |
| 2025 | 240 | 12.9% | 41.7% | 45.0% | 0.4% |
| 2026 | 88 | 27.3% | 26.1% | 46.6% | 0.0% |
Each row counts issues (each condition the Board decided), so the shares add up to 100%. Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome. Years with fewer than 50 issues are left out.
Evidence in granted and denied varicose veins decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the varicose veins issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 210 | 63.4% | 30.9% | +32.5 pts |
| Buddy statement | 43 | 65.4% | 35.1% | +30.3 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 192 | 60.0% | 31.2% | +28.8 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 487 | 44.5% | 31.1% | +13.4 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 86 | 46.2% | 35.1% | +11.0 pts |
| Combat service | 63 | 41.7% | 35.7% | +6.0 pts |
| Lay statement | 1,291 | 36.3% | 33.9% | +2.4 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 251 | 37.1% | 35.8% | +1.3 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 69.1% of the decisions that granted varicose veins.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 36.4% of grants and 13.0% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often varicose veins was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative nexus opinion | 711 | 31.7% | 39.7% | −8.0 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 1,123 | 32.1% | 51.1% | −19.0 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied varicose veins
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established20
- Caused by the service-connected disability13
- Persistent edema incompletely relieved by elevation6
- Service connection established6
- Beginning stasis pigmentation4
- New and material evidence submitted to reopen claim3
- Persistent edema3
- Continuity of symptomatology since service3
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim56
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis52
- Service records negative or silent46
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service35
- Current diagnosis established23
- No current diagnosis21
- Symptoms relieved by elevation11
- Did not meet criteria for higher rating7
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent varicose veins decisions
Granted
Veteran's symptoms analogous to DC 7120 criteria; Benefit of doubt resolved in veteran's favor; Activity-limiting pain reported
Private medical opinion found varicose veins at least as likely as not due to hypertension; Opinion cited multifactorial pathophysiological process; Opinion was highly probative due to thorough rationale and medical literature
Resolving reasonable doubt in Veteran's favor; Caused by NSAID use for service-connected conditions; Criteria for service connection met
Denied
VA examination findings consistent with 10% rating; Lack of persistent edema or other findings for higher rating; Veteran's lay assertions not more persuasive than objective medical findings
No current diagnosis of varicose veins in service treatment records.; No complaints, treatment, or diagnosis of varicose veins in post-service records.; Evidence persuasively weighs against finding of varicose veins.; Benefit-of-the-doubt rule not applicable.
No in-service complaints or treatment documented in STRs; VA examiner opined less likely than not related to service; Examiner found no correlation with herbicide or jet mechanic exposures
Rules that apply to varicose veins claims
- 38 CFR 3.303
Principles of service connection
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your varicose veins case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Rates count decisions in which the Board decided a varicose veins issue, by the outcome of that issue. Other issues in the same decision can have different outcomes.
- “Granted on the merits” leaves out remands and dismissals. “All conditions” is the grant share across every condition issue in the data.
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.