BVA decisions by condition
Parkinson's disease: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a parkinson's disease issue in 2,759 decisions. It granted the parkinson's disease issue in 35.4% of them, above the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 22.3%, and remanded it in 41.4%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 61.3% were granted.
Decisions
2,759
2017–2026
Granted
35.4%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
61.3%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
41.4%
Denied: 22.3%
Parkinson's disease outcomes by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 143 | 30.1% | 28.0% | 35.7% |
| 2018 | 207 | 30.4% | 30.0% | 38.2% |
| 2019 | 308 | 31.8% | 23.4% | 43.8% |
| 2020 | 302 | 35.1% | 20.2% | 42.7% |
| 2021 | 301 | 33.9% | 24.6% | 41.5% |
| 2022 | 367 | 38.7% | 22.1% | 38.4% |
| 2023 | 386 | 36.0% | 20.7% | 41.7% |
| 2024 | 344 | 38.7% | 16.0% | 45.9% |
| 2025 | 302 | 36.8% | 22.8% | 41.1% |
| 2026 | 99 | 39.4% | 21.2% | 40.4% |
Evidence in granted and denied parkinson's disease decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the parkinson's disease 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 | 470 | 85.6% | 54.3% | +31.3 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 288 | 80.5% | 58.2% | +22.3 pts |
| Buddy statement | 171 | 77.8% | 59.9% | +17.8 pts |
| Combat service | 149 | 77.0% | 60.4% | +16.6 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 233 | 75.4% | 59.6% | +15.8 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 1,013 | 68.3% | 56.1% | +12.2 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 533 | 53.6% | 62.6% | −8.9 pts |
| Lay statement | 1,998 | 58.6% | 70.5% | −11.9 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 71.8% of the decisions that granted parkinson's disease.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 37.7% of grants and 10.6% 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 parkinson's disease 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 | 874 | 51.6% | 65.8% | −14.2 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 1,352 | 52.8% | 69.8% | −17.0 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied parkinson's disease
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established180
- Parkinson's disease is presumptively linked to herbicide exposure34
- Parkinson's disease is a presumptive condition under 38 c.f.r. § 3.309(e)32
- Veteran diagnosed with parkinson's disease28
- Veteran served in thailand during vietnam era23
- Parkinson's disease is a presumptive condition linked to herbicide exposure20
- Parkinson's disease is a presumptive condition for herbicide exposure18
- Presumptive service connection for parkinson's disease due to herbicide exposure16
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim70
- No current diagnosis67
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis59
- Service records negative or silent54
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service37
- Current diagnosis established26
- No continuity of symptomatology13
- No evidence of herbicide exposure11
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 parkinson's disease decisions
Granted
Private medical opinion found Parkinson's at least as likely as not caused/aggravated by in-service heavy metal exposure.; VA examiner's opinion was limited to asbestos exposure and did not address private opinion's theory.; Board found private opinion persuasive and resolved doubt in favor of the claim.
Current disability and TERA exposure established; Favorable July 2025 VA opinion linking Parkinson's to TERA; Conflicting negative VA opinion obtained later; Benefit of the doubt applied due to approximate balance of evidence
Parkinson's disease diagnosed; Private opinion found nexus to in-service toxic exposures (heavy metals); VA opinion limited to asbestos, failed to address private opinion's theory; Board found private opinion persuasive; Benefit of doubt resolved in favor of claim
Denied
No confirmed diagnosis of Parkinson's disease; Examiner's diagnosis based on inaccurate premise; Veteran denied diagnosis
Service connection for Parkinson's disease denied.; Present diagnosis and claimed TCE exposure acknowledged.; Lack of competent medical evidence linking Parkinson's disease to TCE exposure.; TERA memorandum did not specifically address TCE.
Service treatment records negative for Parkinson's disease; Post-service records negative for Parkinson's disease diagnosis; VA examiner opinion found competent, credible, and most probative
Rules that apply to parkinson's disease 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 parkinson's disease 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 parkinson's disease 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.