Veterans Law Judge
Judge John R. Doolittle, II: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2021 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge John R. Doolittle, II signed 3,446 Board decisions covering 6,556 condition issues. The judge granted 11.9% of those issues, denied 31.2% and remanded 54.8%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.3% and remanded 46.6%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
3,446
2021–2026
Issues decided
6,556
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
11.9%
Board, same conditions: 20.3%
Issues remanded
54.8%
Board, same conditions: 46.6%
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 | 502 | 8.6% | 17.3% | 63.3% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 304 | 11.5% | 19.5% | 41.8% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 286 | 20.6% | 28.9% | 47.9% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 249 | 28.9% | 39.6% | 29.3% | 22.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 249 | 9.2% | 26.3% | 69.5% | 50.3% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 197 | 12.7% | 20.7% | 53.8% | 46.0% |
| Hypertension | 196 | 14.8% | 17.2% | 52.6% | 48.7% |
| Migraine | 159 | 18.9% | 30.2% | 55.3% | 42.1% |
| Shoulder impairment | 157 | 6.4% | 14.3% | 60.5% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 156 | 9.6% | 14.4% | 60.9% | 53.8% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 143 | 11.2% | 18.7% | 65.0% | 48.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 125 | 13.6% | 20.6% | 61.6% | 51.7% |
| Ankle impairment | 121 | 6.6% | 16.9% | 54.5% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 112 | 15.2% | 20.0% | 56.3% | 40.0% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 100 | 10.0% | 22.1% | 60.0% | 49.5% |
Judge John R. Doolittle, II's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 593 | 19.6% | 32.0% | 51.6% |
| 2023 | 728 | 22.8% | 38.9% | 58.9% |
| 2024 | 905 | 24.0% | 38.2% | 54.8% |
| 2025 | 935 | 22.8% | 35.9% | 57.5% |
| 2026 | 281 | 31.7% | 29.9% | 58.4% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge John R. Doolittle, II's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established78
- Continuity of symptomatology since service26
- Service connection established18
- In-service noise exposure conceded15
- Caused by the service-connected disability11
- Presumptive service connection under 38 c.f.r. § 3.303(b)6
- Conceded herbicide exposure4
- Continuous symptoms since service established3
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis93
- Current diagnosis established61
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis55
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service45
- Service records negative or silent44
- Already at the maximum schedular rating22
- No continuity of symptomatology19
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim17
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 John R. Doolittle, II decisions
Granted
Granted earlier effective date of October 25, 2022.; Granted 10 percent rating prior to March 31, 2025.; Denied rating exceeding 20 percent from March 31, 2025.
Asthma rated under DC 6602; Requires intermittent inhalational use; Does not require daily therapy or anti-inflammatory medication; Pulmonary function tests do not meet criteria for higher rating
Evidence in equipoise regarding current disability; Benefit of the doubt applied for current disability; Evidence minimally indicates in-service noise exposure; Benefit of the doubt applied for in-service event; Veteran's testimony regarding onset and continuation of symptoms is competent and credible
Denied
Maximum schedular rating for tinnitus is 10 percent per DC 6260; Federal Circuit precedent (Smith v. Nicholson) supports single rating limit; No legal basis for rating in excess of 10 percent
Prior to March 31, 2025, criteria for higher than 20% rating not met.; From March 31, 2025, criteria for higher than 40% rating not met.; No evidence of ankylosis, specific motion limitations, or prolonged incapacitating episodes.
Granted 30% rating for severe foot injury; Evidence persuasively weighs against higher rating; Symptoms did not approximate loss of use
Research your Judge John R. Doolittle, II 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 (2021–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.