Veterans Law Judge
Judge Melanie J. Mann: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2023 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Melanie J. Mann signed 2,876 Board decisions covering 5,049 condition issues. The judge granted 27.6% of those issues, denied 23.1% and remanded 47.7%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.3% and remanded 46.5%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
2,876
2023–2026
Issues decided
5,049
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
27.6%
Board, same conditions: 20.3%
Issues remanded
47.7%
Board, same conditions: 46.5%
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 | 370 | 21.4% | 17.3% | 52.4% | 51.1% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 256 | 45.3% | 28.8% | 28.1% | 38.1% |
| Hearing loss | 228 | 27.6% | 19.5% | 27.2% | 34.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 219 | 41.6% | 26.2% | 47.0% | 50.3% |
| Tinnitus | 191 | 59.2% | 39.5% | 14.1% | 22.8% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 163 | 20.9% | 20.7% | 59.5% | 46.0% |
| Hypertension | 146 | 23.3% | 17.1% | 48.6% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 138 | 23.2% | 18.6% | 52.2% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 136 | 42.6% | 30.1% | 30.1% | 42.2% |
| Hip impairment | 116 | 15.5% | 14.3% | 62.9% | 53.8% |
| Shoulder impairment | 108 | 28.7% | 14.3% | 47.2% | 53.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 94 | 35.1% | 16.8% | 44.7% | 50.4% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 94 | 36.2% | 20.5% | 53.2% | 51.7% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 78 | 15.4% | 22.0% | 59.0% | 49.5% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 77 | 35.1% | 19.9% | 37.7% | 40.1% |
Judge Melanie J. Mann's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 519 | 39.7% | 23.5% | 55.1% |
| 2024 | 853 | 41.0% | 29.1% | 51.6% |
| 2025 | 1,117 | 39.4% | 34.4% | 45.7% |
| 2026 | 387 | 46.8% | 33.6% | 45.5% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Melanie J. Mann's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established152
- Service connection established44
- Caused by the service-connected disability21
- In-service noise exposure conceded20
- Continuity of symptomatology since service14
- Resolving all doubt in veteran's favor12
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service12
- Symptoms meet criteria for 70% rating11
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis87
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service37
- Current diagnosis established33
- Service records negative or silent28
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis22
- Already at the maximum schedular rating22
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim18
- Evidence weighs against claim5
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 Melanie J. Mann decisions
Granted
Continuous pursuit of claim from January 2022 Intent to File; Grant of service connection for left leg amputation and scars; Effective date of January 28, 2022, granted
Favorable finding by AOJ for current disability; Unavailable service records heightened duty to consider benefit of doubt; Veteran's testimony found competent and credible regarding in-service fall and continuity of symptoms
Board found criteria for TDIU met; Effective date of November 23, 2019 granted; Veteran submitted fully developed claim
Denied
No evidence of herbicide exposure; No other basis for service connection found
No hearing loss disability for VA purposes per 38 C.F.R. § 3.385.; Audiometric thresholds and speech recognition scores did not meet VA criteria.; In-service audiogram showed normal hearing, despite Veteran's testimony.
Denial of earlier effective date for chronic headaches; Effective date cannot precede initial claim filing date; Initial claim filed January 28, 2022
Research your Judge Melanie J. Mann 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 (2023–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.