Veterans Law Judge
Judge Michael T. Osborne: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Michael T. Osborne signed 602 Board decisions covering 1,467 condition issues. The judge granted 17.6% of those issues, denied 39.4% and remanded 41.4%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.5% and remanded 48.0%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
602
2017–2026
Issues decided
1,467
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
17.6%
Board, same conditions: 19.5%
Issues remanded
41.4%
Board, same conditions: 48.0%
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 | 108 | 15.7% | 17.3% | 41.7% | 51.1% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 71 | 26.8% | 28.9% | 33.8% | 38.1% |
| Hearing loss | 66 | 7.6% | 19.5% | 40.9% | 34.6% |
| Hypertension | 54 | 9.3% | 17.2% | 46.3% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 46 | 15.2% | 18.7% | 37.0% | 48.0% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 46 | 15.2% | 26.2% | 50.0% | 50.3% |
| Tinnitus | 39 | 30.8% | 39.6% | 17.9% | 22.8% |
| Shoulder impairment | 37 | 18.9% | 14.3% | 45.9% | 53.0% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 37 | 16.2% | 20.7% | 37.8% | 46.1% |
| Migraine | 37 | 21.6% | 30.2% | 35.1% | 42.2% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 31 | 32.3% | 20.5% | 45.2% | 51.7% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 30 | 30.0% | 22.0% | 20.0% | 49.6% |
| Ankle impairment | 29 | 27.6% | 16.8% | 37.9% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 27 | 18.5% | 20.0% | 33.3% | 40.1% |
| Hip impairment | 25 | 12.0% | 14.3% | 52.0% | 53.8% |
Judge Michael T. Osborne's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 49 | 28.6% | 53.1% | 55.1% |
| 2020 | 96 | 31.3% | 59.4% | 49.0% |
| 2021 | 380 | 37.1% | 52.9% | 55.0% |
| 2022 | 42 | 35.7% | 73.8% | 40.5% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Michael T. Osborne's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established5
- Service connection established4
- Combined disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment3
- Caused by the service-connected disability3
- Continuity of symptomatology since service2
- In-service noise exposure conceded2
- Occupational and social impairment noted2
- Dr. s.d.w.'s opinion probative for PTSD-death link2
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim69
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service24
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis15
- Service records negative or silent11
- No current diagnosis9
- Current diagnosis established5
- Criteria for rating greater than 10 percent not met4
- Service connection established4
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 Michael T. Osborne decisions
Granted
VA examiner diagnosed right knee instability.; Instability attributed to service-connected osteoarthritis and repairs.; 10 percent rating warranted for slight instability.
Competent and credible lay evidence of in-service noise exposure; Continuity of symptomatology established; Benefit of the doubt resolved in Veteran's favor
Evidence in relative equipoise; Resolving doubt in veteran's favor; Secondary to service-connected right knee condition
Denied
Failure to attend scheduled VA examination; No good cause shown for failure to attend; Violation of duty to cooperate with evidence development
VA examiner's opinion found more probative than private examiner's.; VA examiner noted improvements post-knee replacement.; Objective findings did not support severe impairment or loss of function.
VA examiner opined less likely than not related to service; Lack of objective evidence/diagnosis in service treatment records; Private medical evidence found less probative than VA opinion
Research your Judge Michael T. Osborne 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 (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.