Veterans Law Judge
Judge J.W. Zissimos: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge J.W. Zissimos signed 6,551 Board decisions covering 11,661 condition issues. The judge granted 9.5% of those issues, denied 20.2% and remanded 67.1%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.6% and remanded 47.2%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
6,551
2017–2026
Issues decided
11,661
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
9.5%
Board, same conditions: 19.6%
Issues remanded
67.1%
Board, same conditions: 47.2%
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 | 1,082 | 5.5% | 17.4% | 75.5% | 50.9% |
| Hearing loss | 709 | 7.8% | 19.6% | 54.0% | 34.4% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 533 | 17.4% | 28.9% | 61.0% | 38.0% |
| Tinnitus | 502 | 17.1% | 39.8% | 45.0% | 22.6% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 424 | 8.7% | 20.7% | 71.9% | 45.9% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 423 | 11.3% | 26.3% | 73.0% | 50.2% |
| Hypertension | 338 | 7.7% | 17.2% | 63.6% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 329 | 6.1% | 18.7% | 76.6% | 47.8% |
| Shoulder impairment | 291 | 4.5% | 14.4% | 76.3% | 52.9% |
| Migraine | 260 | 16.5% | 30.2% | 63.8% | 42.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 246 | 6.1% | 20.6% | 78.9% | 51.5% |
| Ankle impairment | 218 | 4.6% | 16.9% | 67.4% | 50.3% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 204 | 9.8% | 20.0% | 60.8% | 39.9% |
| Hip impairment | 192 | 6.3% | 14.4% | 82.3% | 53.6% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 146 | 0.7% | 13.2% | 80.8% | 58.2% |
Judge J.W. Zissimos's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 596 | 11.9% | 28.7% | 71.3% |
| 2018 | 875 | 15.8% | 28.2% | 67.0% |
| 2019 | 889 | 16.5% | 27.0% | 69.0% |
| 2020 | 756 | 13.8% | 25.8% | 68.4% |
| 2021 | 255 | 16.5% | 33.3% | 55.7% |
| 2022 | 686 | 19.2% | 25.9% | 64.4% |
| 2023 | 671 | 16.5% | 22.4% | 63.2% |
| 2024 | 655 | 16.6% | 27.5% | 63.7% |
| 2025 | 857 | 16.9% | 31.2% | 55.7% |
| 2026 | 311 | 14.8% | 25.1% | 58.5% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge J.W. Zissimos's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Caused by the service-connected disability36
- Current diagnosis established34
- Service connection established23
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service15
- Suicidal ideation present13
- Service records negative or silent11
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability9
- Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas6
Most common reasons in denials
- Service records negative or silent260
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service178
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis91
- No current diagnosis86
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim69
- Already at the maximum schedular rating37
- Separation examination showed normal hearing23
- Separation examination normal18
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.W. Zissimos decisions
Granted
Veteran reported tinnitus onset during service.; Service treatment records unavailable.; VA examiner opinion relied on absence of evidence.; Reasonable doubt resolved in veteran's favor.
AOJ implemented grant of service connection effective January 25, 2022.; Board made favorable finding that sleep apnea is related to PTSD.; Favorable findings are binding on the Board.
Private medical opinion found condition at least as likely as not related to service.; VA examination opinion was inadequate as it did not fully address specific facts.; Lay statements from family and fellow servicemember corroborated in-service symptoms.; Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
Denied
Service treatment records negative for sleep apnea; Recent VA treatment records indicate no history of sleep apnea; No evidence of current diagnosis submitted; Existence of current disability required for compensation
Prior denial in October 2006 became final.; Subsequent claims not continuously pursued within one year.; Earliest claim date established as January 25, 2022.
No diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome documented.; Fatigue attributed to other service-connected disabilities (PTSD, muscle pain, sleep apnea).; VA examiners found Veteran did not meet criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome.
Research your Judge J.W. Zissimos 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 (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.