Veterans Law Judge
Judge Dustin L. Ware: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2019 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Dustin L. Ware signed 3,545 Board decisions covering 6,885 condition issues. The judge granted 24.5% of those issues, denied 31.3% and remanded 42.4%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.4% and remanded 46.2%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
3,545
2019–2026
Issues decided
6,885
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
24.5%
Board, same conditions: 20.4%
Issues remanded
42.4%
Board, same conditions: 46.2%
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 | 459 | 16.3% | 17.3% | 49.9% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 354 | 16.7% | 19.5% | 29.7% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 289 | 34.6% | 28.9% | 31.1% | 38.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 266 | 35.7% | 26.2% | 39.5% | 50.4% |
| Tinnitus | 245 | 43.7% | 39.6% | 20.0% | 22.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 229 | 31.4% | 20.6% | 42.4% | 46.1% |
| Hypertension | 199 | 23.1% | 17.1% | 41.2% | 48.8% |
| Migraine | 198 | 34.8% | 30.1% | 36.4% | 42.2% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 168 | 27.4% | 18.6% | 49.4% | 48.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 160 | 19.4% | 14.3% | 52.5% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 146 | 15.1% | 14.3% | 50.0% | 53.8% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 116 | 13.8% | 20.6% | 56.9% | 51.7% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 111 | 30.6% | 22.0% | 49.5% | 49.5% |
| Ankle impairment | 109 | 24.8% | 16.8% | 44.0% | 50.4% |
| Major depressive disorder | 99 | 45.5% | 34.6% | 19.2% | 34.3% |
Judge Dustin L. Ware's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 28 | 28.6% | 71.4% | 35.7% |
| 2021 | 281 | 28.5% | 47.0% | 58.0% |
| 2022 | 356 | 34.3% | 37.4% | 43.8% |
| 2023 | 612 | 40.4% | 32.8% | 49.0% |
| 2024 | 969 | 37.6% | 35.8% | 44.6% |
| 2025 | 895 | 45.5% | 40.3% | 37.9% |
| 2026 | 387 | 42.4% | 42.4% | 38.5% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Dustin L. Ware's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established101
- Service connection established57
- In-service noise exposure conceded28
- Caused by the service-connected disability28
- Continuity of symptomatology since service16
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service14
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability8
- Criteria for service connection met7
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis122
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service75
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim74
- Service records negative or silent53
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis53
- Current diagnosis established41
- Already at the maximum schedular rating24
- No continuity of symptomatology18
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 Dustin L. Ware decisions
Granted
Conceded exposure to hazardous military noise; Found acoustic trauma in service; Private opinion more probative than negative VA opinion; Resolved doubt in Veteran's favor
Veteran credibly testified scar was painful; Benefit of the doubt resolved in veteran's favor; Met criteria for 10% rating under DC 7804
Competent, credible, and probative evidence establishes the Veteran's melanoma/SCC was caused by service activities.; Dr. W.F.'s private opinion was given high probative weight due to thorough review, analysis, and clear rationale.; Negative VA opinion from July 2025 was discounted due to apparent bias in seeking a negative outcome after prior positive opinions.
Denied
Evidence persuasively weighs against onset in service, manifestation within one year, or causal relationship to service, TERA, or renal calculi.; CKD most likely related to diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which outweigh TERA exposure.; VA medical opinions found CKD not related to renal calculi or TERA.
No current disability found per VA exams; Auditory thresholds did not meet criteria; No nexus opinion from Veteran due to lack of medical expertise
Did not meet 100% disabling condition criteria; Not blind; Did not require nursing care
Research your Judge Dustin L. Ware 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.