Veterans Law Judge
Judge David Gratz: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2018 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge David Gratz signed 3,530 Board decisions covering 6,826 condition issues. The judge granted 20.1% of those issues, denied 24.7% and remanded 53.1%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.2% and remanded 46.8%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
3,530
2018–2026
Issues decided
6,826
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
20.1%
Board, same conditions: 20.2%
Issues remanded
53.1%
Board, same conditions: 46.8%
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 | 468 | 17.1% | 17.3% | 55.6% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 350 | 15.1% | 19.5% | 40.6% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 301 | 31.6% | 28.9% | 31.6% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 259 | 45.2% | 39.6% | 24.7% | 22.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 239 | 24.3% | 26.2% | 60.7% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 220 | 19.5% | 17.1% | 47.7% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 188 | 21.8% | 18.6% | 49.5% | 48.0% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 175 | 23.4% | 20.6% | 50.9% | 46.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 163 | 17.8% | 14.3% | 57.1% | 53.0% |
| Migraine | 158 | 31.0% | 30.1% | 48.7% | 42.1% |
| Hip impairment | 136 | 15.4% | 14.3% | 61.8% | 53.8% |
| Ankle impairment | 123 | 13.8% | 16.9% | 60.2% | 50.4% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 114 | 22.8% | 20.5% | 60.5% | 51.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 107 | 15.0% | 20.0% | 50.5% | 40.0% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 93 | 18.3% | 22.0% | 59.1% | 49.5% |
Judge David Gratz's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 256 | 25.8% | 41.8% | 51.6% |
| 2019 | 61 | 19.7% | 32.8% | 50.8% |
| 2020 | 78 | 26.9% | 43.6% | 44.9% |
| 2021 | 210 | 32.4% | 35.7% | 55.2% |
| 2022 | 513 | 34.5% | 30.0% | 58.3% |
| 2023 | 584 | 31.7% | 35.4% | 51.0% |
| 2024 | 657 | 31.8% | 35.8% | 50.2% |
| 2025 | 834 | 39.4% | 33.0% | 43.5% |
| 2026 | 337 | 42.7% | 30.3% | 40.1% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge David Gratz's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established102
- Service connection established38
- Caused by the service-connected disability30
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service15
- Continuity of symptomatology since service12
- Service records negative or silent10
- In-service noise exposure conceded9
- No contrary medical opinion evidence6
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service76
- No current diagnosis73
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim60
- Service records negative or silent49
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis38
- Current diagnosis established34
- Already at the maximum schedular rating29
- Benefit-of-the-doubt rule did not apply13
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 David Gratz decisions
Granted
Reconsideration under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c) warranted due to later associated service records.; Favorable VA nexus opinions obtained in December 2019 and June 2020.; Persistent symptoms of auditory hallucinations and delusions since 1976.
Reduction improper as AOJ failed to demonstrate actual improvement in ability to function; Competent and credible evidence weighed against finding material improvement; Restoration of prior rating warranted due to VA's failure to meet burden of proof
Board found symptoms more closely approximated 70% criteria; Resolved reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran; Suicidal ideation present, but not persistent danger of self-harm
Denied
VA examination showed intermediate degrees of pain and limitation of motion.; Evidence weighs against severe painful motion or weakness.; Evidence weighs against ankylosis, limitation of flexion/extension, or tibia/fibula impairment.
Evidence persuasively weighs against claim for rating in excess of 10 percent.; No approximate balance of evidence, benefit-of-the-doubt rule does not apply.; VA examinations noted dizziness but not staggering.
Evidence did not meet criteria for compensable rating.; No findings of >50% nasal obstruction or polyps.; Symptoms and records did not reflect criteria for 10% rating.
Research your Judge David Gratz 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 (2018–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.