Veterans Law Judge
Judge Paulette Vance Burton: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2022 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Paulette Vance Burton signed 3,604 Board decisions covering 6,842 condition issues. The judge granted 17.8% of those issues, denied 33.3% and remanded 46.9%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.7% and remanded 45.7%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
3,604
2022–2026
Issues decided
6,842
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
17.8%
Board, same conditions: 20.7%
Issues remanded
46.9%
Board, same conditions: 45.7%
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 | 539 | 15.2% | 17.3% | 51.9% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 300 | 10.0% | 19.5% | 31.7% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 278 | 27.7% | 28.9% | 37.4% | 38.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 273 | 22.7% | 26.2% | 58.6% | 50.3% |
| Tinnitus | 264 | 35.6% | 39.6% | 21.2% | 22.8% |
| Migraine | 208 | 27.4% | 30.2% | 38.9% | 42.2% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 207 | 19.3% | 20.7% | 46.4% | 46.1% |
| Hypertension | 181 | 16.6% | 17.2% | 49.7% | 48.7% |
| Shoulder impairment | 165 | 12.1% | 14.3% | 44.8% | 53.1% |
| Hip impairment | 154 | 11.0% | 14.4% | 54.5% | 53.8% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 152 | 15.1% | 18.7% | 48.7% | 48.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 148 | 13.5% | 16.9% | 51.4% | 50.4% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 116 | 25.9% | 20.5% | 53.4% | 51.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 109 | 22.0% | 20.0% | 48.6% | 40.0% |
| Major depressive disorder | 96 | 28.1% | 34.6% | 28.1% | 34.2% |
Judge Paulette Vance Burton's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 433 | 27.7% | 39.0% | 43.2% |
| 2023 | 812 | 30.3% | 34.7% | 52.1% |
| 2024 | 963 | 31.4% | 42.3% | 42.5% |
| 2025 | 1,039 | 31.1% | 41.4% | 47.7% |
| 2026 | 357 | 23.8% | 40.3% | 49.0% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Paulette Vance Burton's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established94
- Service connection established46
- In-service noise exposure conceded25
- Caused by the service-connected disability21
- Continuity of symptomatology since service15
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service10
- Service records negative or silent10
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability9
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service109
- No current diagnosis101
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim68
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis61
- Service records negative or silent52
- Current diagnosis established49
- Evidence weighs against service connection19
- Lay assertions on etiology lack probative value15
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 Paulette Vance Burton decisions
Granted
Aggravated by service-connected hip replacements; Obesity as intermediate step; Resolved doubt in Veteran's favor
Competent evidence of current disability; Evidence of in-service onset and continuation; Positive nexus opinion from VA examiner; Benefit of the doubt applied due to approximate balance of evidence
Private treatment records show daily topical corticosteroid use.; November 2023 VA examination was inadequate due to incorrect factual premise.; Resolving reasonable doubt in veteran's favor, 60% rating warranted.
Denied
Residuals did not meet criteria for higher rating; Pain levels (2/10-3/10) not considered severe; Range of motion not significantly limited
No in-service complaints or diagnosis of elbow issues.; Diagnosis of bilateral triceps tendinitis in 2023, over 30 years post-service.; Etiology and pathophysiology of tendinitis are fully understood (overuse/trauma).; Pain onset reported in 2021, six to seven months prior to 2023 evaluation.; Unlikely to be etiologically related to service.
Veteran failed to attend scheduled VA C&P examination.; No good cause provided for failure to attend examination.; Evidence of record weighs against service connection.
Research your Judge Paulette Vance Burton 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.