Veterans Law Judge
Judge Lesley A. Rein: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Lesley A. Rein signed 9,605 Board decisions covering 19,922 condition issues. The judge granted 15.2% of those issues, denied 29.5% and remanded 52.2%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.7% and remanded 47.4%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
9,605
2017–2026
Issues decided
19,922
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
15.2%
Board, same conditions: 19.7%
Issues remanded
52.2%
Board, same conditions: 47.4%
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 | 1,583 | 12.1% | 17.3% | 56.7% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 1,136 | 13.6% | 19.6% | 39.3% | 34.5% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 955 | 24.0% | 28.9% | 42.6% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 731 | 40.1% | 39.6% | 24.2% | 22.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 664 | 12.0% | 20.7% | 55.1% | 46.0% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 639 | 22.4% | 26.3% | 55.2% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 583 | 14.2% | 17.2% | 50.3% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 501 | 11.6% | 18.7% | 53.5% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 437 | 20.8% | 30.3% | 52.6% | 42.1% |
| Shoulder impairment | 399 | 7.0% | 14.4% | 57.9% | 53.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 398 | 11.1% | 16.9% | 51.3% | 50.4% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 371 | 17.3% | 20.6% | 59.3% | 51.6% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 362 | 18.0% | 20.0% | 41.2% | 40.0% |
| Hip impairment | 338 | 12.4% | 14.4% | 53.8% | 53.8% |
| Major depressive disorder | 273 | 30.4% | 34.7% | 39.6% | 34.1% |
Judge Lesley A. Rein's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 587 | 17.4% | 41.1% | 58.8% |
| 2018 | 1,103 | 23.9% | 43.5% | 63.0% |
| 2019 | 1,167 | 22.3% | 41.1% | 61.9% |
| 2020 | 1,177 | 26.8% | 37.3% | 57.0% |
| 2021 | 1,158 | 25.4% | 36.9% | 61.0% |
| 2022 | 938 | 30.6% | 37.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023 | 1,009 | 31.2% | 36.2% | 55.7% |
| 2024 | 1,034 | 32.9% | 37.4% | 53.4% |
| 2025 | 1,045 | 35.5% | 40.3% | 51.6% |
| 2026 | 387 | 42.6% | 43.7% | 38.5% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Lesley A. Rein's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established164
- Service connection established81
- In-service noise exposure conceded62
- Caused by the service-connected disability51
- Continuity of symptomatology since service32
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability22
- Conflicting medical opinions weighed12
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service12
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim345
- No current diagnosis325
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis230
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service187
- Service records negative or silent160
- Current diagnosis established119
- Already at the maximum schedular rating81
- Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection67
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 Lesley A. Rein decisions
Granted
Conflicting medical opinions regarding etiology; Board found May 2023 VA opinion inadequate; March 2023 VA opinion persuasive due to favorable nexus and objective findings; Benefit of the doubt applied due to approximate balance of evidence
Evidence approximately balanced.; Benefit of the doubt applied.; Headaches associated with service-connected allergic rhinitis.
Evidence in approximate balance; Benefit of the doubt resolved in Veteran's favor; Cumulative impact of service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment
Denied
Sleep apnea rated under DC 6847; Criteria for >50% rating not met; No indication of chronic respiratory failure, cor pulmonale, or tracheostomy
No current disability shown during appeal period; Service treatment records normal at separation; No post-service treatment for hemorrhoids
No in-service complaints or diagnosis in STRs; DMII not presumptive for Camp Lejeune TERA; June 2025 VA opinion found DMII less likely than not caused by TERA; Morbid obesity assessed as likely cause of DMII
Research your Judge Lesley A. Rein 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.