Veterans Law Judge
Judge Michelle L. Kane: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Michelle L. Kane signed 7,995 Board decisions covering 15,655 condition issues. The judge granted 10.0% of those issues, denied 41.4% and remanded 45.7%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.0% and remanded 46.6%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
7,995
2017–2026
Issues decided
15,655
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
10.0%
Board, same conditions: 20.0%
Issues remanded
45.7%
Board, same conditions: 46.6%
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 | 1,296 | 10.2% | 17.3% | 43.4% | 51.2% |
| Hearing loss | 930 | 9.4% | 19.6% | 36.2% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 782 | 14.7% | 29.0% | 43.7% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 593 | 19.7% | 39.8% | 31.9% | 22.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 542 | 10.7% | 20.7% | 42.4% | 46.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 498 | 9.8% | 26.4% | 55.8% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 476 | 11.3% | 17.2% | 49.8% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 437 | 8.7% | 18.7% | 44.9% | 48.1% |
| Migraine | 362 | 13.8% | 30.3% | 45.6% | 42.1% |
| Shoulder impairment | 360 | 5.6% | 14.4% | 47.2% | 53.1% |
| Hip impairment | 355 | 5.6% | 14.4% | 45.1% | 53.9% |
| Ankle impairment | 302 | 6.3% | 17.0% | 44.4% | 50.5% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 271 | 12.9% | 20.0% | 42.4% | 40.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 226 | 12.8% | 20.6% | 47.8% | 51.7% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 206 | 3.9% | 13.2% | 51.0% | 58.4% |
Judge Michelle L. Kane's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 765 | 17.0% | 47.8% | 54.1% |
| 2018 | 872 | 19.2% | 50.9% | 57.8% |
| 2019 | 854 | 23.4% | 40.2% | 60.4% |
| 2020 | 793 | 17.7% | 51.2% | 52.8% |
| 2021 | 832 | 18.0% | 46.8% | 48.3% |
| 2022 | 854 | 20.5% | 43.1% | 50.8% |
| 2023 | 823 | 20.2% | 48.2% | 50.2% |
| 2024 | 825 | 18.8% | 47.4% | 47.5% |
| 2025 | 1,010 | 19.7% | 55.5% | 35.6% |
| 2026 | 367 | 22.6% | 49.9% | 37.3% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Michelle L. Kane's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established83
- Service connection established30
- Caused by the service-connected disability25
- In-service noise exposure conceded21
- Continuity of symptomatology since service17
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability8
- Service records negative or silent6
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service4
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service288
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim246
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis232
- No current diagnosis195
- Service records negative or silent179
- Current diagnosis established118
- No continuity of symptomatology98
- Continuity of symptomatology since service45
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 Michelle L. Kane decisions
Granted
Continuous pursuit of claim; Waiver of procedural rules due to confusing history; Reasonable doubt resolved in favor
Credible lay evidence of chronic knee pain during and since service; Persuasive private medical opinion linking condition to strenuous military duties; Benefit of the doubt afforded to the veteran
Veteran served in Korea near DMZ during period of herbicide application.; Conceded in-service herbicide exposure.; Hypertension is presumptively associated with herbicide exposure.
Denied
No evidence of herbicide exposure in Taiwan.; No evidence of radiation exposure.; Condition did not onset during service or within one year of separation.; No continuity of symptoms from service to diagnosis.
No competent evidence of current mental health diagnosis; VA examiner found no DSM-5 diagnosis; Veteran reported only mild, transient anxiety symptoms; No current treatment for mental health conditions
No current diagnosis of bilateral shoulder condition.; No objective evidence of shoulder pathology.; In-service condition resolved.; Lay assertions insufficient to establish current disability.
Research your Judge Michelle L. Kane 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.