Veterans Law Judge
Judge A. C. Mackenzie: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge A. C. Mackenzie signed 10,534 Board decisions covering 22,131 condition issues. The judge granted 17.0% of those issues, denied 31.2% and remanded 49.6%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.8% and remanded 47.2%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
10,534
2017–2026
Issues decided
22,131
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
17.0%
Board, same conditions: 19.8%
Issues remanded
49.6%
Board, same conditions: 47.2%
Judges do not choose their cases, and grant rates differ a lot by condition. “Board, same conditions” is what the rest of the Board decided for the same mix of conditions, so the comparison is fair to the judge's docket. This is not a ranking.
Conditions this judge decided most
Each row compares the judge's issues on one condition with the rest of the Board's issues on the same condition. Conditions with fewer than 20 of this judge's issues are left out, because a few decisions can swing the rate.
| Condition | Issues | Granted | Board granted | Remanded | Board remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knee impairment | 1,819 | 15.8% | 17.3% | 51.1% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 1,019 | 14.5% | 19.5% | 37.3% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 1,013 | 23.8% | 28.9% | 42.2% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 715 | 45.3% | 39.5% | 21.4% | 22.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 708 | 13.8% | 20.7% | 47.6% | 46.0% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 684 | 20.3% | 26.3% | 56.9% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 650 | 18.0% | 17.1% | 51.5% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 588 | 17.0% | 18.7% | 47.4% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 542 | 30.3% | 30.1% | 41.7% | 42.2% |
| Shoulder impairment | 504 | 13.3% | 14.3% | 55.6% | 53.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 458 | 11.4% | 20.7% | 59.6% | 51.6% |
| Hip impairment | 445 | 19.6% | 14.3% | 52.8% | 53.8% |
| Ankle impairment | 434 | 18.0% | 16.8% | 50.0% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 341 | 17.6% | 20.0% | 41.6% | 40.0% |
| Major depressive disorder | 295 | 31.5% | 34.7% | 41.4% | 34.1% |
Judge A. C. Mackenzie's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 944 | 16.4% | 42.3% | 64.2% |
| 2018 | 1,188 | 24.2% | 39.0% | 64.4% |
| 2019 | 1,145 | 27.2% | 43.8% | 62.4% |
| 2020 | 1,166 | 30.1% | 44.0% | 54.6% |
| 2021 | 1,200 | 28.7% | 41.3% | 57.5% |
| 2022 | 1,052 | 30.8% | 40.6% | 54.8% |
| 2023 | 1,076 | 34.7% | 35.5% | 54.3% |
| 2024 | 1,179 | 38.8% | 34.4% | 46.8% |
| 2025 | 1,145 | 44.0% | 47.0% | 36.0% |
| 2026 | 439 | 41.2% | 37.4% | 42.6% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge A. C. Mackenzie's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established194
- Service connection established79
- In-service noise exposure conceded78
- Caused by the service-connected disability53
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service26
- Service records negative or silent18
- Criteria for service connection met16
- Already at the maximum schedular rating15
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim479
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service413
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis275
- Service records negative or silent269
- No current diagnosis240
- No continuity of symptomatology88
- Current diagnosis established54
- Already at the maximum schedular rating53
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 Judge A. C. Mackenzie decisions
Granted
Veteran presumed exposed to herbicide agents in Vietnam; Veteran has diagnosis of hypertension; PACT Act includes hypertension as disease with positive association to herbicide exposure
Granted 40% rating; Rated under DC 8510; Moderate incomplete paralysis of major extremity
Evidence in equipoise regarding TERA contribution; Conceded TERA participation; Diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis dating from at least 2009
Denied
Disability not shown as chronic in service; Did not manifest to a compensable degree within presumptive period; No continuity of symptomatology attributable to service; No medical nexus established between current disorder and service; No radiographic evidence of retained needle fragment; Osteoarthritis diagnosis occurred decades after service
Service treatment records negative for back condition; Post-service records show degenerative changes, not linked to service; Lay testimony found conclusory and insufficient for nexus
No current diagnosis of TBI; In-service TBI symptoms resolved within 24 hours; Current symptoms attributed to PTSD and functional impairment
Research your Judge A. C. Mackenzie case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Issue rates count each condition the Board decided in a decision once, by the outcome of that issue. A decision can grant one issue and deny another.
- The yearly table counts decisions: a decision with a granted issue and a denied issue appears in both columns, so a row can add up to more than 100%.
- "Board, same conditions" weights the rest of the Board's grant and remand rate for each condition by how many of this judge's issues were on that condition. It does not adjust for evidence, hearing type or representation.
- Judges are identified from the signature on each decision. This page is a statistical summary, not an evaluation of any judge.
- 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.