Veterans Law Judge
Judge D. Smart: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2019 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge D. Smart signed 3,406 Board decisions covering 6,547 condition issues. The judge granted 19.5% of those issues, denied 28.4% and remanded 50.1%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.0% and remanded 46.9%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
3,406
2019–2026
Issues decided
6,547
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
19.5%
Board, same conditions: 20.0%
Issues remanded
50.1%
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 | 479 | 17.3% | 17.3% | 54.7% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 311 | 12.9% | 19.5% | 34.4% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 286 | 32.9% | 28.9% | 38.8% | 38.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 269 | 29.0% | 26.2% | 53.5% | 50.3% |
| Tinnitus | 245 | 38.0% | 39.6% | 22.0% | 22.8% |
| Hypertension | 186 | 17.2% | 17.2% | 50.0% | 48.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 181 | 18.8% | 20.7% | 58.6% | 46.0% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 170 | 22.4% | 18.6% | 48.2% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 168 | 33.3% | 30.1% | 44.0% | 42.2% |
| Hip impairment | 153 | 17.6% | 14.3% | 54.9% | 53.8% |
| Shoulder impairment | 144 | 16.0% | 14.3% | 59.7% | 53.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 128 | 10.9% | 16.9% | 60.9% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 91 | 24.2% | 19.9% | 41.8% | 40.1% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 88 | 8.0% | 13.2% | 64.8% | 58.3% |
| Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) | 72 | 12.5% | 19.3% | 62.5% | 52.9% |
Judge D. Smart's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 67 | 26.9% | 52.2% | 59.7% |
| 2021 | 168 | 27.4% | 45.8% | 56.5% |
| 2022 | 206 | 26.7% | 28.6% | 53.9% |
| 2023 | 749 | 32.4% | 35.5% | 53.1% |
| 2024 | 917 | 33.7% | 31.7% | 50.3% |
| 2025 | 949 | 34.0% | 35.4% | 51.1% |
| 2026 | 346 | 38.7% | 39.0% | 46.2% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge D. Smart's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established124
- Service connection established38
- In-service noise exposure conceded32
- Continuity of symptomatology since service16
- Caused by the service-connected disability14
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service11
- Symptoms approximated 70% rating criteria7
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability6
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis96
- Service records negative or silent68
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service61
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim55
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis52
- Current diagnosis established36
- Already at the maximum schedular rating23
- No continuity of symptomatology10
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 D. Smart decisions
Granted
New and relevant evidence received; Private opinion found adequate and probative; Resolving reasonable doubt in Veteran's favor; Nexus found between service and PTSD
Presumption of regularity rebutted; Returned mail to incorrect address; No further attempts to deliver decision
Private medical opinion found condition at least as likely as not caused by service-connected left wrist injury.; VA opinions found condition less likely than not related to service.; Evidence found to be in approximate balance, with doubt resolved in Veteran's favor.
Denied
Audiometric testing showed Level IV designation bilaterally.; Level IV designation equates to 10 percent disability rating under DC 6100.; Evidence did not support exceptional pattern of hearing impairment or higher rating.
Evidence weighs against compensable rating; Did not manifest hammer toes across all five toes; Severity did not meet criteria for higher rating or analogous code
No esophageal stricture documented; Symptoms did not meet criteria for considerable impairment of health; No functional impact on work noted by examiners
Research your Judge D. Smart 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 (2019–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.