Veterans Law Judge
Judge Ann K. Minami: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2022 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Ann K. Minami signed 2,644 Board decisions covering 4,994 condition issues. The judge granted 25.5% of those issues, denied 26.4% and remanded 46.3%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.3% and remanded 46.9%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
2,644
2022–2026
Issues decided
4,994
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
25.5%
Board, same conditions: 20.3%
Issues remanded
46.3%
Board, same conditions: 46.9%
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 | 371 | 24.8% | 17.2% | 51.8% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 248 | 17.3% | 19.5% | 26.2% | 34.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 228 | 36.8% | 26.2% | 48.2% | 50.3% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 217 | 30.4% | 28.9% | 34.6% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 217 | 59.0% | 39.5% | 10.1% | 22.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 143 | 26.6% | 20.6% | 50.3% | 46.0% |
| Hypertension | 134 | 24.6% | 17.1% | 41.0% | 48.8% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 132 | 24.2% | 18.6% | 43.9% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 132 | 34.8% | 30.1% | 43.9% | 42.2% |
| Shoulder impairment | 113 | 25.7% | 14.3% | 39.8% | 53.1% |
| Hip impairment | 105 | 21.9% | 14.3% | 53.3% | 53.8% |
| Ankle impairment | 92 | 30.4% | 16.8% | 46.7% | 50.4% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 90 | 34.4% | 20.5% | 36.7% | 51.7% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 81 | 25.9% | 22.0% | 46.9% | 49.5% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 68 | 25.0% | 13.1% | 54.4% | 58.4% |
Judge Ann K. Minami's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 386 | 31.9% | 26.7% | 52.8% |
| 2024 | 910 | 38.8% | 35.8% | 46.4% |
| 2025 | 953 | 43.0% | 37.0% | 44.6% |
| 2026 | 394 | 46.4% | 30.2% | 44.2% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Ann K. Minami's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established103
- In-service noise exposure conceded31
- Continuity of symptomatology since service25
- Caused by the service-connected disability25
- Service connection established23
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability22
- Benefit-of-the-doubt rule applied9
- Service records negative or silent7
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis72
- Service records negative or silent53
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service46
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis32
- Already at the maximum schedular rating20
- Current diagnosis established20
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim17
- Criteria for service connection not met6
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 Ann K. Minami decisions
Granted
38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c) criteria met; Service treatment records not associated with claims file at time of prior decision; Microscopic hematuria in service records indicated underlying kidney condition
Conflicting VA opinions (June 2024 negative, March 2025 positive); Equipoise between opinions; Benefit of the doubt applied in Veteran's favor
Veteran service-connected for right knee disability; Veteran uses knee brace for right knee disability; Veteran testified brace caused wear and tear to clothing in 2021; Veteran's testimony found credible
Denied
Criteria for service connection not met.
Veteran denied tinnitus during service and multiple times post-service.; Service treatment records and VA examinations show no nexus to military noise exposure.; Late onset of tinnitus precludes presumptive service connection.
VA examinations did not find symptoms meeting criteria for persistently recurrent epigastric distress, dysphagia, vomiting, material weight loss, hematemesis, or melena with moderate anemia.; VA examinations did not find symptoms productive of considerable or severe impairment of health.; Private medical opinion was inadequate as it lacked examination details and thorough record review.
Research your Judge Ann K. Minami 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 (2022–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.