Veterans Law Judge
Judge Marcus N. Fulton: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2022 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Marcus N. Fulton signed 2,977 Board decisions covering 5,425 condition issues. The judge granted 28.7% of those issues, denied 26.0% and remanded 43.6%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.0% and remanded 47.3%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
2,977
2022–2026
Issues decided
5,425
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
28.7%
Board, same conditions: 20.0%
Issues remanded
43.6%
Board, same conditions: 47.3%
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 | 357 | 25.2% | 17.2% | 47.6% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 256 | 17.2% | 19.5% | 35.9% | 34.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 243 | 40.3% | 26.2% | 46.1% | 50.4% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 224 | 51.8% | 28.8% | 21.4% | 38.2% |
| Hypertension | 210 | 31.4% | 17.1% | 35.7% | 48.8% |
| Tinnitus | 202 | 56.9% | 39.5% | 9.4% | 22.8% |
| Hip impairment | 141 | 15.6% | 14.3% | 52.5% | 53.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 128 | 30.5% | 20.6% | 49.2% | 46.1% |
| Migraine | 126 | 44.4% | 30.1% | 33.3% | 42.2% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 118 | 28.8% | 18.6% | 50.0% | 48.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 111 | 24.3% | 14.3% | 58.6% | 53.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 103 | 18.4% | 16.8% | 49.5% | 50.4% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 97 | 38.1% | 20.5% | 43.3% | 51.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 96 | 27.1% | 19.9% | 38.5% | 40.1% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 84 | 29.8% | 22.0% | 41.7% | 49.6% |
Judge Marcus N. Fulton's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 290 | 39.7% | 28.3% | 46.6% |
| 2023 | 636 | 40.6% | 29.1% | 53.6% |
| 2024 | 788 | 42.3% | 32.5% | 44.4% |
| 2025 | 921 | 49.5% | 33.0% | 37.6% |
| 2026 | 342 | 52.9% | 32.5% | 37.1% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Marcus N. Fulton's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established135
- Service connection established60
- Caused by the service-connected disability36
- In-service noise exposure conceded29
- Continuity of symptomatology since service20
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability14
- Resolving all doubt in veteran's favor11
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service10
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis72
- Service records negative or silent42
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim36
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service35
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis28
- Already at the maximum schedular rating24
- Current diagnosis established22
- Service connection established6
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 Marcus N. Fulton decisions
Granted
Approximate balance of evidence; Benefit of the doubt applied; Prohibitive private opinion
Dr. P. opinion found persuasive; Positive nexus established; Benefit of the doubt applied
Recurrent stone formation requiring drug therapy; Prior version of DC 7508 criteria applied; 30 percent rating is highest available
Denied
Rating reduction from 10% to noncompensable was proper.; Scars healed well, in remission, not painful/unstable.; No characteristics of disfigurement met criteria for 10% rating.
No current diagnosis of sinusitis found in the record.; Service treatment records showed some assessments of sinusitis, but no treatment or complaints within the applicable evidentiary window.; Weight of the evidence is against the existence of the condition.
Evidence does not support total social and occupational impairment.; VA examiners opined symptoms met criteria for 50% (March 2019) and 30% (May 2020) ratings.; Symptoms do not rise to the level of 100% rating criteria.
Research your Judge Marcus N. Fulton 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 (2022–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.