Veterans Law Judge
Judge J. Nichols: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2019 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge J. Nichols signed 3,378 Board decisions covering 5,928 condition issues. The judge granted 30.4% of those issues, denied 26.5% and remanded 40.2%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.6% and remanded 46.2%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
3,378
2019–2026
Issues decided
5,928
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
30.4%
Board, same conditions: 20.6%
Issues remanded
40.2%
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 | 442 | 29.4% | 17.2% | 42.5% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 331 | 24.2% | 19.5% | 29.9% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 276 | 36.2% | 28.9% | 33.0% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 258 | 38.8% | 39.6% | 17.1% | 22.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 226 | 39.4% | 20.6% | 38.5% | 46.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 197 | 42.6% | 26.2% | 37.6% | 50.4% |
| Hypertension | 173 | 24.9% | 17.1% | 38.7% | 48.8% |
| Migraine | 160 | 45.0% | 30.1% | 33.1% | 42.2% |
| Shoulder impairment | 139 | 28.8% | 14.3% | 42.4% | 53.1% |
| Hip impairment | 133 | 20.3% | 14.3% | 57.9% | 53.8% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 131 | 37.4% | 18.6% | 38.9% | 48.1% |
| Ankle impairment | 91 | 29.7% | 16.8% | 36.3% | 50.5% |
| Major depressive disorder | 89 | 52.8% | 34.5% | 20.2% | 34.2% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 85 | 41.2% | 20.5% | 42.4% | 51.7% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 77 | 24.7% | 13.1% | 46.8% | 58.4% |
Judge J. Nichols's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 71 | 32.4% | 28.2% | 46.5% |
| 2020 | 35 | 28.6% | 34.3% | 40.0% |
| 2021 | 241 | 41.9% | 40.2% | 46.1% |
| 2022 | 674 | 35.8% | 30.7% | 47.9% |
| 2023 | 345 | 33.6% | 35.1% | 55.4% |
| 2024 | 766 | 46.5% | 37.3% | 33.6% |
| 2025 | 914 | 44.6% | 36.7% | 36.0% |
| 2026 | 332 | 52.1% | 36.1% | 25.3% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge J. Nichols's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established142
- Service connection established43
- In-service noise exposure conceded26
- Caused by the service-connected disability23
- Evidence evenly balanced17
- Continuity of symptomatology since service15
- Criteria for service connection met10
- Already at the maximum schedular rating8
Most common reasons in denials
- Service records negative or silent64
- No current diagnosis62
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service53
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim52
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis44
- Current diagnosis established35
- Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection17
- Already at the maximum schedular rating13
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 J. Nichols decisions
Granted
Evidence persuasively in favor of service connection; Approximate balance of evidence regarding herbicide exposure; Benefit of the doubt resolved in Veteran's favor
Veteran found to have suffered disability under conditions entitling to two awards of SMC(l); Resolving all reasonable doubt in Veteran's favor; SMC(o) granted effective January 19, 2025
Veteran competent to identify tinnitus; Veteran's testimony credible; VA medical opinion inadequate due to lack of rationale; Continuity of symptoms established
Denied
Service treatment records silent for allergic rhinitis.; Separation examination showed normal sinuses/nose.; VA examiner opined less likely than not related to service.; Veteran's statement about onset in service is credible but lacks medical nexus.; Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection.
Veteran's extension limited to 25 degrees.; Criteria for rating in excess of 10 percent not met.; Painful motion considered but did not warrant higher rating.
Service connection for tinnitus granted with October 17, 2012 effective date.; Appellant sought earlier effective date.; Board found October 17, 2012 to be the earliest possible effective date.
Research your Judge J. Nichols 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.