Veterans Law Judge
Judge Jonathan B. Kramer: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Jonathan B. Kramer signed 7,647 Board decisions covering 13,646 condition issues. The judge granted 22.0% of those issues, denied 54.7% and remanded 20.4%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.7% and remanded 45.4%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
7,647
2017–2026
Issues decided
13,646
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
22.0%
Board, same conditions: 20.7%
Issues remanded
20.4%
Board, same conditions: 45.4%
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 | 1,182 | 19.5% | 17.2% | 23.6% | 51.3% |
| Hearing loss | 751 | 22.4% | 19.5% | 14.9% | 34.7% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 599 | 28.2% | 28.9% | 20.7% | 38.2% |
| Tinnitus | 557 | 23.9% | 39.7% | 14.7% | 22.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 479 | 19.4% | 20.7% | 19.0% | 46.3% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 414 | 26.8% | 26.2% | 22.5% | 50.5% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 408 | 23.0% | 18.6% | 17.2% | 48.3% |
| Hypertension | 402 | 19.9% | 17.1% | 22.1% | 48.9% |
| Shoulder impairment | 352 | 17.3% | 14.3% | 15.1% | 53.4% |
| Migraine | 302 | 37.4% | 30.1% | 14.6% | 42.4% |
| Hip impairment | 270 | 17.4% | 14.3% | 19.6% | 54.1% |
| Ankle impairment | 258 | 19.0% | 16.8% | 20.2% | 50.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 256 | 17.6% | 20.0% | 20.3% | 40.2% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 239 | 19.7% | 20.5% | 25.5% | 51.9% |
| Major depressive disorder | 189 | 26.5% | 34.7% | 15.3% | 34.3% |
Judge Jonathan B. Kramer's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 627 | 29.3% | 64.4% | 29.3% |
| 2018 | 874 | 35.1% | 62.7% | 23.8% |
| 2019 | 915 | 30.9% | 57.9% | 33.9% |
| 2020 | 863 | 34.6% | 57.4% | 35.3% |
| 2021 | 834 | 34.5% | 49.2% | 32.1% |
| 2022 | 730 | 34.0% | 45.3% | 36.2% |
| 2023 | 746 | 36.3% | 49.5% | 31.2% |
| 2024 | 819 | 36.1% | 48.5% | 22.6% |
| 2025 | 883 | 37.4% | 48.5% | 20.2% |
| 2026 | 356 | 43.3% | 50.6% | 18.0% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Jonathan B. Kramer's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established90
- Service connection established76
- Criteria for service connection met34
- Caused by the service-connected disability32
- In-service noise exposure conceded28
- Continuity of symptomatology since service27
- Service records negative or silent19
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service14
Most common reasons in denials
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis343
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service297
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim291
- No current diagnosis162
- Service records negative or silent154
- Current diagnosis established114
- No continuity of symptomatology60
- Criteria for service connection not met42
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 Jonathan B. Kramer decisions
Granted
Separate diagnosis from tinnitus; Symptoms align with 50% rating criteria; Rated by analogy to DC 9422
Condition manifested during service; VA examiner opinion is probative and favorable; No contrary competent medical opinions
Service-connected bilateral knee and low back disabilities established.; Private and VA opinions found bilateral ankle disability aggravated by service-connected knee/back conditions.; Opinions cited biomechanical relationship and overcompensation.
Denied
Rated under DC 7899-7804, analogous to DC 7804 for unstable or painful scars.; August 2020 VA exam found scar painful but not unstable.; Evidence does not support a higher evaluation than 10 percent for painful scars.
No competent and credible evidence of current bilateral pes planus; Evidence persuasively against the claim; Benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine not applicable
Criteria for 20% rating not met as flexion was not limited to 30 degrees.; Worst observed flexion was 75 degrees.; No higher rating warranted under DC 5003-5260.
Research your Judge Jonathan B. Kramer 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.