Veterans Law Judge
Judge Matthew Tenner: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2025, Veterans Law Judge Matthew Tenner signed 819 Board decisions covering 1,787 condition issues. The judge granted 12.3% of those issues, denied 30.1% and remanded 55.9%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.8% and remanded 47.3%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
819
2017–2025
Issues decided
1,787
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
12.3%
Board, same conditions: 19.8%
Issues remanded
55.9%
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 | 112 | 6.3% | 17.3% | 58.0% | 51.1% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 101 | 24.8% | 28.9% | 46.5% | 38.1% |
| Hearing loss | 98 | 24.5% | 19.5% | 36.7% | 34.6% |
| Tinnitus | 88 | 31.8% | 39.6% | 34.1% | 22.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 75 | 20.0% | 20.7% | 50.7% | 46.1% |
| Hypertension | 61 | 6.6% | 17.2% | 60.7% | 48.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 54 | 13.0% | 26.2% | 55.6% | 50.3% |
| Ankle impairment | 45 | 13.3% | 16.9% | 57.8% | 50.4% |
| Migraine | 43 | 16.3% | 30.2% | 58.1% | 42.2% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 40 | 17.5% | 18.7% | 50.0% | 48.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 39 | 5.1% | 20.6% | 48.7% | 51.7% |
| Shoulder impairment | 39 | 12.8% | 14.3% | 64.1% | 53.0% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 39 | 10.3% | 20.0% | 41.0% | 40.1% |
| Major depressive disorder | 29 | 24.1% | 34.6% | 34.5% | 34.2% |
| Foot impairment | 26 | 0.0% | 10.7% | 61.5% | 61.2% |
Judge Matthew Tenner's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 218 | 27.1% | 43.6% | 63.3% |
| 2019 | 540 | 22.6% | 41.1% | 58.0% |
| 2020 | 37 | 24.3% | 27.0% | 62.2% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Matthew Tenner's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established27
- Service connection established4
- In-service noise exposure conceded3
- Continuity of symptomatology since service3
- Caused by the service-connected disability3
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service3
- Competent and credible lay statements2
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability2
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim55
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service37
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis28
- No current diagnosis21
- Current diagnosis established19
- Service records negative or silent12
- No new and material evidence submitted5
- Already at the maximum schedular rating5
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 Matthew Tenner decisions
Granted
Veteran's lay report of in-service accident corroborated by sister's statement; Examiner found positive nexus despite lack of military records; Prior opinions found inadequate
Private physician opinion found headaches at least as likely as not caused by service-connected depressive disorder.; VA examiner opinion found headaches less likely than not secondary to psychiatric disorder, but was based on inaccurate factual premises and internal inconsistencies.; Board found private physician's opinion more credible and probative.
Met schedular criteria for TDIU as of November 21, 2008.; Service-connected disabilities prevented substantially gainful employment.; Income remained below poverty threshold.
Denied
No continuity of symptoms; No nexus to service; No presumptive connection to herbicide exposure
No new and material evidence submitted; Evidence cumulative and redundant; Prior evidentiary defect not cured
No new and material evidence submitted; Evidence considered cumulative and redundant; Prior denial became final
Research your Judge Matthew Tenner 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 (2017–2025) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.