Veterans Law Judge
Judge M. M. Celli: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2018 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge M. M. Celli signed 1,928 Board decisions covering 3,609 condition issues. The judge granted 18.4% of those issues, denied 33.3% and remanded 45.8%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.1% and remanded 46.1%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
1,928
2018–2026
Issues decided
3,609
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
18.4%
Board, same conditions: 20.1%
Issues remanded
45.8%
Board, same conditions: 46.1%
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 | 280 | 11.8% | 17.3% | 55.7% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 202 | 12.9% | 19.5% | 36.1% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 162 | 32.1% | 28.9% | 37.0% | 38.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 140 | 16.4% | 26.2% | 56.4% | 50.3% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 120 | 23.3% | 20.7% | 52.5% | 46.0% |
| Tinnitus | 113 | 46.0% | 39.6% | 23.0% | 22.7% |
| Hypertension | 97 | 12.4% | 17.2% | 38.1% | 48.8% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 94 | 14.9% | 18.7% | 48.9% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 79 | 30.4% | 30.1% | 39.2% | 42.2% |
| Ankle impairment | 78 | 12.8% | 16.9% | 55.1% | 50.4% |
| Shoulder impairment | 72 | 5.6% | 14.3% | 52.8% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 65 | 6.2% | 14.4% | 55.4% | 53.8% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 54 | 24.1% | 20.5% | 59.3% | 51.7% |
| Major depressive disorder | 53 | 30.2% | 34.6% | 30.2% | 34.2% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 46 | 21.7% | 20.0% | 28.3% | 40.1% |
Judge M. M. Celli's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 51 | 37.3% | 45.1% | 72.5% |
| 2019 | 79 | 36.7% | 32.9% | 68.4% |
| 2020 | 39 | 41.0% | 71.8% | 53.8% |
| 2021 | 157 | 28.0% | 51.6% | 59.9% |
| 2022 | 283 | 29.3% | 32.2% | 58.7% |
| 2023 | 471 | 31.4% | 36.1% | 53.1% |
| 2024 | 498 | 35.9% | 44.8% | 42.6% |
| 2025 | 232 | 37.9% | 43.1% | 45.3% |
| 2026 | 118 | 35.6% | 55.1% | 36.4% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge M. M. Celli's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established56
- Service connection established18
- Resolving all doubt in veteran's favor16
- Caused by the service-connected disability12
- Resolved all doubt in veteran's favor10
- In-service noise exposure conceded8
- Board resolved all doubt in veteran's favor7
- Continuity of symptomatology since service5
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis74
- Service records negative or silent54
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service54
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim34
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis28
- Already at the maximum schedular rating13
- Current diagnosis established8
- Continuity of symptomatology since service6
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. M. Celli decisions
Granted
Board found evidence in relative equipoise; Resolved all doubt in Veteran's favor; Found confirmed military noise exposure sufficient to cause BHL
Veteran's lay testimony of in-service sexual assault corroborated by multiple VA mental health professionals' findings and diagnoses.; VA psychiatrists and examiners found Veteran's accounts credible and linked PTSD symptoms to military sexual trauma.; Evidence was in equipoise regarding stressor occurrence; doubt resolved in Veteran's favor.
Private medical opinion linked migraines to service; Service treatment records noted head pains during service; Evidence in equipoise, benefit of doubt applied
Denied
No diagnosis of hypertension during service; No evidence of treatment or complaints within one year of separation; Veteran's lay opinion on etiology not competent
No current diagnosis or in-service nexus prior to August 2020 decision; Later private records and independent evaluation lacked probative value for nexus; Veteran's lay testimony on GERD etiology deemed incompetent
No current diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome; VA examiner found Veteran did not meet diagnostic criteria; No relevant findings or significant impact on daily activities; Treatment records for PTSD did not mention or diagnose CFS; Board afforded greater weight to VA examiner's opinion
Research your Judge M. M. Celli 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 (2018–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.