Veterans Law Judge
Judge James Springer: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2019 to 2022, Veterans Law Judge James Springer signed 325 Board decisions covering 802 condition issues. The judge granted 14.3% of those issues, denied 35.2% and remanded 49.0%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.4% and remanded 47.1%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
325
2019–2022
Issues decided
802
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
14.3%
Board, same conditions: 19.4%
Issues remanded
49.0%
Board, same conditions: 47.1%
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 | 57 | 10.5% | 17.3% | 61.4% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 35 | 8.6% | 19.5% | 40.0% | 34.6% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 30 | 6.7% | 20.7% | 56.7% | 46.1% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 28 | 42.9% | 28.9% | 35.7% | 38.1% |
| Hypertension | 26 | 19.2% | 17.2% | 38.5% | 48.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 25 | 8.0% | 26.2% | 60.0% | 50.3% |
| Migraine | 22 | 40.9% | 30.1% | 36.4% | 42.2% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 21 | 19.0% | 18.7% | 33.3% | 48.0% |
Judge James Springer's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 73 | 34.2% | 47.9% | 64.4% |
| 2021 | 89 | 28.1% | 50.6% | 57.3% |
| 2022 | 147 | 23.8% | 42.2% | 58.5% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge James Springer's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Service connection established8
- Current diagnosis established6
- Caused by the service-connected disability2
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim19
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service16
- Service records negative or silent15
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis10
- No current diagnosis7
- Current diagnosis established5
- Did not meet criteria for higher rating2
- Continuity of symptomatology since service2
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 James Springer decisions
Granted
VA examiner linked hepatitis to drug use; Drug use considered part of service-connected psychiatric disability; Evidence in equipoise, doubt resolved in Veteran's favor
Veteran met schedular requirements for TDIU since June 1, 2016.; Veteran's PTSD and headaches precluded substantially gainful employment.; SSA disability determination highly probative of disability due to trauma and stress-related disorders.
Current diagnosis of degenerative arthritis of the right knee.; Veteran's lay statements credible and consistent with symptoms since service.; Evidence in approximate balance, benefit-of-the-doubt applied.
Denied
No probative opinion linking TBI to service-connected knee disability; VA examiner's opinion afforded high probative value; Veteran's lay assertions not competent medical evidence for diagnosis/etiology
Medical evidence did not support claimed limitations in flexion or extension.; VA examination showed normal results with no objective signs of pain or instability.; Weight of evidence was against claim for increased rating.
GERD rated under DC 7399-7346, analogous to hiatal hernia.; For Oct 2016-Oct 2019, symptoms approximated criteria for 10% rating.; For Oct 2019 onwards, symptoms productive of considerable but not severe impairment.
Research your Judge James Springer 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 (2019–2022) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.