Veterans Law Judge
Judge K. A. Banfield: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2022, Veterans Law Judge K. A. Banfield signed 4,373 Board decisions covering 8,430 condition issues. The judge granted 11.8% of those issues, denied 28.4% and remanded 56.7%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.2% and remanded 48.0%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
4,373
2017–2022
Issues decided
8,430
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
11.8%
Board, same conditions: 19.2%
Issues remanded
56.7%
Board, same conditions: 48.0%
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 | 761 | 8.8% | 17.3% | 65.2% | 51.0% |
| Hearing loss | 492 | 10.8% | 19.5% | 39.6% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 381 | 15.0% | 28.9% | 54.6% | 38.0% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 356 | 8.4% | 20.7% | 56.7% | 46.0% |
| Hypertension | 303 | 9.9% | 17.2% | 56.8% | 48.7% |
| Tinnitus | 270 | 41.5% | 39.6% | 20.7% | 22.8% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 238 | 15.5% | 26.3% | 52.9% | 50.3% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 232 | 13.4% | 18.7% | 48.7% | 48.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 213 | 3.3% | 14.4% | 66.2% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 181 | 9.9% | 14.4% | 65.7% | 53.7% |
| Migraine | 181 | 18.2% | 30.2% | 56.9% | 42.1% |
| Ankle impairment | 163 | 11.0% | 16.9% | 57.1% | 50.4% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 147 | 8.2% | 20.6% | 55.8% | 51.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 140 | 16.4% | 20.0% | 45.0% | 40.0% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 129 | 3.9% | 13.2% | 66.7% | 58.3% |
Judge K. A. Banfield's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 677 | 13.0% | 37.5% | 57.9% |
| 2018 | 854 | 19.0% | 39.3% | 58.7% |
| 2019 | 749 | 23.9% | 33.2% | 59.9% |
| 2020 | 729 | 25.4% | 40.9% | 53.2% |
| 2021 | 733 | 27.1% | 38.2% | 53.1% |
| 2022 | 631 | 21.6% | 36.6% | 56.3% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge K. A. Banfield's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established39
- Service connection established24
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service13
- Service records negative or silent10
- Caused by the service-connected disability10
- In-service noise exposure conceded10
- New and material evidence received to reopen claim8
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim7
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim303
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service239
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis152
- Service records negative or silent69
- Current diagnosis established56
- No current diagnosis52
- Veteran's lay opinion not competent medical evidence15
- Already at the maximum schedular rating15
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 K. A. Banfield decisions
Granted
Congenital condition not noted at entry examination; Presumption of soundness applies; Lack of clear evidence against aggravation during service
Resolved reasonable doubt in Veteran's favor; Hiatal hernia and GERD more nearly approximate criteria for 10% rating; Symptoms did not meet criteria for higher ratings
Symptoms approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.; Resolved doubt in Veteran's favor.; Symptoms included paranoia, aggression, irritability, and poor concentration.
Denied
No competent medical opinion linking headaches to service; Veteran failed to attend scheduled VA examination; Service treatment records negative for headaches
Evidence weighs against moderate limitation of motion prior to August 24, 2017.; Objective medical evidence is more probative than lay assertions.; Evidence weighs against marked limitation of motion from August 24, 2017.
No in-service records of significant ongoing back condition at separation.; VA examiner opined current low back disability less likely than not related to service.; Degenerative spine disease considered age-related, not caused by minor in-service injury.
Research your Judge K. A. Banfield 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 (2017–2022) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.