Veterans Law Judge
Judge R.R. Watkins: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2019 to 2025, Veterans Law Judge R.R. Watkins signed 583 Board decisions covering 1,289 condition issues. The judge granted 15.5% of those issues, denied 29.2% and remanded 52.2%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.8% and remanded 47.0%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
583
2019–2025
Issues decided
1,289
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
15.5%
Board, same conditions: 19.8%
Issues remanded
52.2%
Board, same conditions: 47.0%
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 | 133 | 13.5% | 17.3% | 55.6% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 59 | 11.9% | 19.5% | 42.4% | 34.6% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 58 | 12.1% | 20.7% | 60.3% | 46.0% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 47 | 40.4% | 28.9% | 29.8% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 33 | 33.3% | 39.6% | 27.3% | 22.7% |
| Shoulder impairment | 29 | 13.8% | 14.3% | 79.3% | 53.0% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 29 | 24.1% | 20.5% | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 28 | 10.7% | 26.2% | 50.0% | 50.3% |
| Migraine | 27 | 48.1% | 30.1% | 29.6% | 42.2% |
| Hypertension | 27 | 11.1% | 17.2% | 70.4% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 27 | 11.1% | 18.7% | 70.4% | 48.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 23 | 17.4% | 16.9% | 26.1% | 50.4% |
| Hip impairment | 21 | 9.5% | 14.3% | 42.9% | 53.8% |
Judge R.R. Watkins's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 34 | 32.4% | 23.5% | 55.9% |
| 2020 | 44 | 36.4% | 59.1% | 52.3% |
| 2021 | 155 | 35.5% | 54.8% | 57.4% |
| 2022 | 340 | 29.7% | 34.1% | 63.2% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge R.R. Watkins's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established12
- Service connection established9
- Continuity of symptomatology since service5
- Caused by the service-connected disability4
- Veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment3
- Already at the maximum schedular rating2
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service2
- Criteria for TDIU met2
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim29
- No current diagnosis13
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis13
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service10
- Already at the maximum schedular rating6
- Service records negative or silent4
- No continuity of symptomatology4
- Current diagnosis established3
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 R.R. Watkins decisions
Granted
Diagnostic Code 7825 applies to urticaria.; Veteran requires second-line treatment (topical corticosteroids) for control.; 30 percent evaluation warranted under both pre- and post-August 13, 2018 criteria.
Veteran's symptoms of daily fatigue, weakness, malaise, arthralgia, and minor weight loss meet criteria for 40% rating.; More severe symptoms like ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, or variceal hemorrhage not sufficiently evidenced.; Applied more favorable rating criteria (DC 7354) for the appeal period.
Direct service connection granted for lumbar spine disorder.; Rigorous training and MOS duties consistent with service.; Private chiropractor opinion provided nexus.; Doubt resolved in veteran's favor.
Denied
Veteran's symptoms do not meet criteria for total occupational and social impairment.; Evidence does not show gross impairment in thought processes, persistent delusions/hallucinations, or grossly inappropriate behavior.; Veteran maintains relationships and has good hygiene/appearance, contradicting total impairment.
May 1969 decision denying hearing loss was not CUE; Lack of audiometric data in initial claims file; Veteran failed to attend scheduled VA examination; Subsequent audiometric tests consistently showed normal hearing
Objective range of motion did not meet criteria for higher rating; Pain and functional loss did not warrant higher rating under applicable codes; 20 percent rating for degenerative arthritis is appropriate
Research your Judge R.R. Watkins 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 (2019–2025) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.