Veterans Law Judge
Judge G. William Riggs: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2022 to 2025, Veterans Law Judge G. William Riggs signed 2,633 Board decisions covering 4,999 condition issues. The judge granted 15.1% of those issues, denied 33.7% and remanded 48.7%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.6% and remanded 46.0%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
2,633
2022–2025
Issues decided
4,999
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
15.1%
Board, same conditions: 20.6%
Issues remanded
48.7%
Board, same conditions: 46.0%
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 | 337 | 10.4% | 17.3% | 56.1% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 235 | 17.4% | 19.5% | 30.2% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 223 | 23.3% | 28.9% | 39.9% | 38.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 211 | 24.6% | 26.2% | 57.3% | 50.3% |
| Tinnitus | 211 | 29.9% | 39.6% | 23.2% | 22.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 163 | 16.0% | 20.7% | 58.3% | 46.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 143 | 23.1% | 20.5% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Migraine | 141 | 22.7% | 30.2% | 48.9% | 42.2% |
| Hypertension | 139 | 18.7% | 17.2% | 46.0% | 48.7% |
| Shoulder impairment | 126 | 10.3% | 14.3% | 57.9% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 118 | 8.5% | 14.4% | 61.0% | 53.8% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 114 | 15.8% | 18.7% | 50.0% | 48.0% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 90 | 14.4% | 20.0% | 44.4% | 40.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 84 | 4.8% | 16.9% | 71.4% | 50.4% |
| Major depressive disorder | 66 | 22.7% | 34.6% | 27.3% | 34.2% |
Judge G. William Riggs's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 353 | 30.6% | 40.8% | 41.9% |
| 2023 | 663 | 26.1% | 39.5% | 53.4% |
| 2024 | 1,123 | 27.3% | 37.8% | 49.2% |
| 2025 | 494 | 29.6% | 40.5% | 47.2% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge G. William Riggs's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established80
- Service connection established20
- Continuity of symptomatology since service20
- In-service noise exposure conceded17
- Caused by the service-connected disability15
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service9
- Resolving all doubt in veteran's favor8
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability5
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis74
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service56
- Service records negative or silent43
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis43
- Current diagnosis established40
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim35
- Already at the maximum schedular rating15
- Evidence persuasively weighs against claim9
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 G. William Riggs decisions
Granted
Forward flexion limited to 22 degrees with pain; Estimated forward flexion to 10 degrees after repeated use; Evidence of guarding not resulting in abnormal gait or spinal contour; Progressive symptomatology consistent with lumbar degenerative joint and disc disease; Resolving all doubt in Veteran's favor
Current disability found; In-service complaints documented; Private nexus opinion found favorable
Chronic disease under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a); Continuity of symptomatology established; Favorable VA examiner opinion linking to noise exposure
Denied
Unfavorable VA examiner opinion; Normal hearing in service treatment records; No significant permanent shift in hearing thresholds; Preponderance of evidence against claim
Veteran's dyspnea does not meet criteria for 30% rating.; FEV-1/FVC results and bronchodilator use do not support higher rating.; Most probative evidence does not support rating higher than 10%.
No current diagnosis of PTSD; Lay statements not competent for diagnosis; Treatment record excerpt lacked provider information
Research your Judge G. William Riggs 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 (2022–2025) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.