Veterans Law Judge
Judge L. Stepanick: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2019 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge L. Stepanick signed 3,248 Board decisions covering 6,105 condition issues. The judge granted 22.3% of those issues, denied 21.0% and remanded 54.5%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.9% and remanded 47.5%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
3,248
2019–2026
Issues decided
6,105
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
22.3%
Board, same conditions: 19.9%
Issues remanded
54.5%
Board, same conditions: 47.5%
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 | 448 | 19.4% | 17.3% | 59.4% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 294 | 13.3% | 19.5% | 35.4% | 34.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 250 | 34.4% | 26.2% | 52.0% | 50.3% |
| Tinnitus | 249 | 42.6% | 39.6% | 26.5% | 22.7% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 238 | 37.8% | 28.9% | 35.7% | 38.1% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 205 | 15.1% | 20.7% | 62.4% | 46.0% |
| Migraine | 188 | 38.8% | 30.1% | 40.4% | 42.2% |
| Hypertension | 158 | 25.9% | 17.1% | 51.3% | 48.7% |
| Shoulder impairment | 148 | 10.1% | 14.3% | 64.9% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 136 | 12.5% | 14.3% | 72.8% | 53.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 133 | 18.0% | 18.7% | 57.9% | 48.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 109 | 15.6% | 16.9% | 65.1% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 95 | 28.4% | 19.9% | 48.4% | 40.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 93 | 20.4% | 20.5% | 64.5% | 51.7% |
| Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) | 81 | 33.3% | 19.2% | 55.6% | 52.9% |
Judge L. Stepanick's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 30 | 36.7% | 43.3% | 53.3% |
| 2021 | 121 | 33.1% | 33.1% | 62.8% |
| 2022 | 84 | 50.0% | 13.1% | 71.4% |
| 2023 | 761 | 34.3% | 30.9% | 60.6% |
| 2024 | 921 | 38.9% | 26.7% | 51.9% |
| 2025 | 940 | 39.7% | 27.9% | 48.6% |
| 2026 | 380 | 40.3% | 27.1% | 41.8% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge L. Stepanick's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established135
- Service connection established42
- Caused by the service-connected disability32
- In-service noise exposure conceded17
- Symptoms approximated 70% criteria8
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service7
- Continuity of symptomatology since service6
- Veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment6
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis56
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis42
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service30
- Already at the maximum schedular rating24
- Current diagnosis established24
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim16
- Service records negative or silent13
- Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection10
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 L. Stepanick decisions
Granted
Current diagnosis of tinnitus established.; In-service injury (noise exposure) established.; Evidence in equipoise regarding nexus.; Benefit of doubt applied to grant service connection.
Migraine headaches rated under Diagnostic Code 8100.; 50 percent rating warranted for very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.; Board found Veteran's symptoms met criteria as of February 28, 2023, based on private medical evaluation.
Service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment; Favorable opinion from Dr. B.T.; Evidence in relative equipoise, benefit of doubt applied
Denied
Veteran already receiving maximum 30% rating; Symptoms consistent with maximum rating criteria; Evidence weighed against higher rating
No presumptive service connection for hypertension due to TERA.; Earliest diagnosis occurred during civilian employment.; VA examiner found hypertension less likely than not caused by service or TERA.; Hypertension attributed to family history and lifestyle.
Competent medical evidence did not show compensable limited motion; Evidence weighed against higher rating for painful motion
Research your Judge L. Stepanick 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 (2019–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.