Veterans Law Judge
Judge Delyvonne M. Whitehead: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Delyvonne M. Whitehead signed 6,256 Board decisions covering 11,867 condition issues. The judge granted 18.1% of those issues, denied 22.9% and remanded 57.1%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.7% and remanded 47.4%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
6,256
2017–2026
Issues decided
11,867
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
18.1%
Board, same conditions: 19.7%
Issues remanded
57.1%
Board, same conditions: 47.4%
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 | 918 | 12.5% | 17.3% | 59.5% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 675 | 14.8% | 19.5% | 44.7% | 34.5% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 496 | 25.8% | 28.9% | 49.8% | 38.0% |
| Tinnitus | 438 | 38.8% | 39.6% | 28.1% | 22.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 406 | 23.9% | 26.2% | 62.3% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 345 | 21.2% | 17.1% | 53.9% | 48.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 335 | 17.9% | 20.7% | 55.5% | 46.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 281 | 11.7% | 14.3% | 62.3% | 53.0% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 270 | 19.6% | 18.6% | 53.7% | 48.0% |
| Hip impairment | 261 | 14.2% | 14.3% | 65.5% | 53.7% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 257 | 12.8% | 20.6% | 67.7% | 51.6% |
| Migraine | 250 | 26.8% | 30.2% | 55.6% | 42.1% |
| Ankle impairment | 241 | 13.3% | 16.9% | 58.9% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 174 | 21.3% | 20.0% | 52.9% | 40.0% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 151 | 18.5% | 22.0% | 58.9% | 49.5% |
Judge Delyvonne M. Whitehead's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 366 | 17.2% | 24.3% | 53.6% |
| 2019 | 112 | 32.1% | 33.0% | 54.5% |
| 2020 | 795 | 28.6% | 40.3% | 56.2% |
| 2021 | 948 | 28.2% | 28.1% | 62.8% |
| 2022 | 868 | 29.0% | 26.0% | 65.9% |
| 2023 | 880 | 33.8% | 27.2% | 62.0% |
| 2024 | 911 | 36.6% | 35.0% | 50.1% |
| 2025 | 997 | 38.1% | 38.1% | 48.7% |
| 2026 | 375 | 39.7% | 35.2% | 52.8% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Delyvonne M. Whitehead's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established143
- Service connection established61
- Continuity of symptomatology since service45
- In-service noise exposure conceded43
- Caused by the service-connected disability32
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability20
- Service records negative or silent10
- Already at the maximum schedular rating6
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim192
- No current diagnosis129
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service105
- Service records negative or silent68
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis57
- Current diagnosis established55
- Already at the maximum schedular rating39
- Evidence persuasively against claim10
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 Delyvonne M. Whitehead decisions
Granted
Veteran credible and competent to report tinnitus symptoms; Evidence found to be at least in equipoise; Benefit of the doubt applied
Medical records reflect diagnoses of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and depressive disorder due to another medical condition.; Veteran's service records reflect premature discharge due to "inability to adapt to the military environment."; Private psychiatrist found current psychiatric diagnoses causally linked to military service, citing traumatic events derailing individual's plan.
TDIU claim raised in conjunction with hypertension claim; Veteran met schedular criteria by September 2018 (80% rating); Veteran met noneconomic criteria by August 2022 (symptoms documented in VA exams)
Denied
Weight of evidence against service connection; VA examiner found sleep apnea less likely than not related to PTSD; Sleep apnea multifactorial, not directly caused by PTSD
No new and relevant evidence submitted since prior denial; Subsequent records were duplicative or irrelevant; Prior medical opinions found sleep apnea less likely than not related to PTSD
Veteran did not meet range of motion criteria for higher rating.; Already receiving 10% for painful motion, no higher rating warranted.; Weight of evidence against higher rating.
Research your Judge Delyvonne M. Whitehead case
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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.