Veterans Law Judge
Judge M. H. Hawley: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2021, Veterans Law Judge M. H. Hawley signed 3,998 Board decisions covering 8,539 condition issues. The judge granted 18.3% of those issues, denied 29.3% and remanded 49.2%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.5% and remanded 47.5%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
3,998
2017–2021
Issues decided
8,539
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
18.3%
Board, same conditions: 19.5%
Issues remanded
49.2%
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 | 785 | 16.1% | 17.3% | 49.0% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 517 | 22.2% | 19.5% | 34.8% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 412 | 27.9% | 28.9% | 40.8% | 38.1% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 318 | 20.8% | 20.7% | 45.3% | 46.1% |
| Hypertension | 286 | 11.2% | 17.2% | 50.0% | 48.7% |
| Tinnitus | 285 | 41.1% | 39.6% | 26.3% | 22.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 206 | 28.2% | 26.2% | 46.6% | 50.3% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 201 | 18.9% | 18.7% | 46.8% | 48.0% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 172 | 14.0% | 20.0% | 41.9% | 40.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 167 | 16.2% | 14.3% | 52.7% | 53.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 166 | 19.9% | 20.5% | 55.4% | 51.7% |
| Migraine | 159 | 32.7% | 30.1% | 40.3% | 42.2% |
| Hip impairment | 140 | 13.6% | 14.3% | 53.6% | 53.8% |
| Ankle impairment | 132 | 14.4% | 16.9% | 55.3% | 50.4% |
| Major depressive disorder | 115 | 33.9% | 34.6% | 41.7% | 34.2% |
Judge M. H. Hawley's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 780 | 24.2% | 38.5% | 58.2% |
| 2018 | 1,144 | 32.1% | 41.2% | 58.0% |
| 2019 | 1,035 | 34.9% | 40.4% | 55.4% |
| 2020 | 1,022 | 32.3% | 38.7% | 55.0% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge M. H. Hawley's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established79
- Service connection established21
- Caused by the service-connected disability20
- In-service noise exposure conceded18
- Continuity of symptomatology since service14
- Already at the maximum schedular rating11
- New and material evidence submitted8
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability8
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim224
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service97
- No current diagnosis76
- Service records negative or silent72
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis64
- Current diagnosis established35
- Already at the maximum schedular rating25
- No continuity of symptomatology16
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 M. H. Hawley decisions
Granted
VA examination noted link between PTSD and obstructive sleep apnea; Evidence in equipoise, doubt resolved in veteran's favor; Met criteria for secondary service connection
Pre-existing pes planus noted at enlistment; Aggravated by rigorous military training and footwear; Private medical evidence supports aggravation
Evidence in equipoise regarding secondary nexus; Benefit of the doubt applied; Contemporaneous hospital record noted multiple left knee injuries due to favoring right leg
Denied
Higher ratings for limitation of motion not warranted; Range of motion and pain did not meet criteria for increased evaluation; Current 40 percent rating for extension limitation deemed appropriate
August 2020 VA examiner opinion assigned significant probative weight; Examiner cited absence of hearing loss and tinnitus etiology; Evidence preponderated against service connection
No evidence of ankylosis under DC 5214; Current 10% rating for painful motion is maximum under DC 5215; Preponderance of evidence against higher rating
Research your Judge M. H. Hawley 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 (2017–2021) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.