Veterans Law Judge
Judge B.T. Knope: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge B.T. Knope signed 8,103 Board decisions covering 16,105 condition issues. The judge granted 21.2% of those issues, denied 50.6% and remanded 25.7%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.1% and remanded 46.6%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
8,103
2017–2026
Issues decided
16,105
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
21.2%
Board, same conditions: 20.1%
Issues remanded
25.7%
Board, same conditions: 46.6%
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 | 1,249 | 18.5% | 17.3% | 25.9% | 51.3% |
| Hearing loss | 939 | 19.4% | 19.5% | 16.2% | 34.8% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 762 | 26.9% | 28.9% | 21.7% | 38.3% |
| Tinnitus | 629 | 36.7% | 39.6% | 9.2% | 22.9% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 558 | 24.2% | 26.2% | 25.8% | 50.6% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 499 | 20.2% | 20.7% | 25.3% | 46.2% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 484 | 21.3% | 18.6% | 24.8% | 48.3% |
| Hypertension | 437 | 23.1% | 17.1% | 23.3% | 48.9% |
| Migraine | 400 | 31.3% | 30.1% | 20.0% | 42.4% |
| Shoulder impairment | 376 | 19.4% | 14.3% | 23.1% | 53.3% |
| Hip impairment | 350 | 16.3% | 14.3% | 23.4% | 54.1% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 345 | 22.0% | 20.5% | 24.9% | 52.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 307 | 18.9% | 16.8% | 20.2% | 50.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 272 | 19.1% | 20.0% | 16.9% | 40.3% |
| Major depressive disorder | 216 | 29.2% | 34.7% | 19.4% | 34.3% |
Judge B.T. Knope's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 695 | 25.8% | 57.4% | 38.0% |
| 2018 | 913 | 34.2% | 57.1% | 37.5% |
| 2019 | 1,033 | 31.5% | 62.3% | 33.2% |
| 2020 | 961 | 33.2% | 62.6% | 26.5% |
| 2021 | 869 | 37.3% | 52.8% | 31.8% |
| 2022 | 908 | 37.6% | 50.6% | 31.1% |
| 2023 | 551 | 39.4% | 52.5% | 31.8% |
| 2024 | 758 | 44.6% | 49.7% | 23.5% |
| 2025 | 996 | 31.1% | 64.2% | 19.2% |
| 2026 | 419 | 37.9% | 60.6% | 17.9% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge B.T. Knope's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established200
- In-service noise exposure conceded77
- Continuity of symptomatology since service56
- Service connection established50
- Caused by the service-connected disability43
- New and material evidence submitted to reopen claim17
- Continuity of symptoms since service established16
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability13
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service509
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis446
- No current diagnosis289
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim256
- Service records negative or silent244
- No continuity of symptomatology83
- Current diagnosis established77
- Already at the maximum schedular rating67
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 B.T. Knope decisions
Granted
Veteran served 30+ days at Camp Lejeune during contamination period; Prostate cancer not presumptively linked to Camp Lejeune water; February 2024 VA exam established nexus to toxic exposure
Veteran's lay testimony regarding in-service onset and continuity of tinnitus is probative and credible.; Conceded exposure to excessive noise during active service.; No intervening cause shown for the condition.
August 2021 VA exam noted symptoms consistent with 70% rating; February 2022 VA exam noted symptoms consistent with 70% rating; Private opinion found 100% disability but was internally inconsistent
Denied
Symptoms experienced at 3-5 METs; No medical opinion supporting higher rating; Symptoms do not meet criteria for 100% rating
Evidence did not demonstrate total occupational and social impairment; Veteran's reported isolation contrasted with positive social interactions; VA examinations did not indicate total impairment
Service treatment records did not reflect complaints related to sleep apnea.; VA examiner opined condition was less likely than not proximately due to or the result of acquired psychiatric disorder.; Private opinion lacked specifics and was deemed speculative by the Board.
Research your Judge B.T. Knope 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.