Veterans Law Judge
Judge David H. Robertson: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2023 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge David H. Robertson signed 1,451 Board decisions covering 2,727 condition issues. The judge granted 8.5% of those issues, denied 68.4% and remanded 21.7%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.8% and remanded 45.6%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
1,451
2023–2026
Issues decided
2,727
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
8.5%
Board, same conditions: 20.8%
Issues remanded
21.7%
Board, same conditions: 45.6%
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 | 202 | 8.9% | 17.3% | 10.9% | 51.2% |
| Hearing loss | 148 | 10.1% | 19.5% | 12.8% | 34.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 133 | 4.5% | 26.3% | 38.3% | 50.4% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 107 | 10.3% | 28.9% | 15.9% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 99 | 11.1% | 39.6% | 15.2% | 22.8% |
| Hypertension | 82 | 8.5% | 17.2% | 25.6% | 48.8% |
| Hip impairment | 75 | 2.7% | 14.4% | 30.7% | 53.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 73 | 8.2% | 20.7% | 21.9% | 46.1% |
| Shoulder impairment | 67 | 7.5% | 14.3% | 17.9% | 53.1% |
| Migraine | 64 | 14.1% | 30.2% | 15.6% | 42.2% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 63 | 11.1% | 18.7% | 19.0% | 48.1% |
| Ankle impairment | 58 | 0.0% | 16.9% | 25.9% | 50.5% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 47 | 10.6% | 20.0% | 29.8% | 40.1% |
| Major depressive disorder | 44 | 6.8% | 34.7% | 18.2% | 34.2% |
| Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) | 41 | 9.8% | 19.3% | 17.1% | 53.0% |
Judge David H. Robertson's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 237 | 17.3% | 62.9% | 34.2% |
| 2024 | 401 | 16.7% | 69.1% | 25.2% |
| 2025 | 512 | 14.6% | 60.5% | 24.8% |
| 2026 | 301 | 21.9% | 66.8% | 20.9% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge David H. Robertson's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established22
- Service connection established9
- Caused by the service-connected disability6
- VA examiner provided positive nexus opinion3
- Grant of earlier effective date3
- Continuity of symptomatology since service3
- Symptoms approximated moderate incomplete paralysis2
- Pact act presumptive service connection2
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service89
- No current diagnosis82
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis77
- Service records negative or silent65
- Current diagnosis established31
- Already at the maximum schedular rating15
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim14
- No continuity of symptomatology8
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 H. Robertson decisions
Granted
Presumptive service connection granted under PACT Act; Qualifying Persian Gulf service and diagnosis of allergic rhinitis; Presumption for chronic diseases associated with fine particulate matter exposure
VA examiner opined tinnitus is at least as likely as not caused by military noise exposure; Examiner rationale: noise exposure affects outer hair cell function, causing subjective ringing; Veteran's lay testimony regarding tinnitus is competent
Prior VA opinions found inadequate due to reliance on inaccurate MOS premise; Prior VA opinions failed to discuss lay statements regarding noise exposure; Veteran's lay statements regarding tinnitus onset and continuity found credible and supported by military records
Denied
No in-service complaints, diagnosis, or treatment for right knee disability.; Right knee injury occurred post-service (flag football in 2009).; VA examiners opined less likely than not related to service.
No current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes.; Veteran's lay testimony regarding etiology not competent.; Audiometric testing showed normal hearing bilaterally.
Veteran's reported prostrating attacks occurred more than once per month.; Veteran denied completely prostrating and prolonged attacks.; VA examiner noted moderate impact on work ability, not severe economic inadaptability.
Research your Judge David H. Robertson 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 (2023–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.