Veterans Law Judge
Judge Ray Barto Slabbekorn, Jr.: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2021 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Ray Barto Slabbekorn, Jr. signed 2,652 Board decisions covering 5,857 condition issues. The judge granted 35.7% of those issues, denied 41.3% and remanded 21.0%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.9% and remanded 45.7%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
2,652
2021–2026
Issues decided
5,857
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
35.7%
Board, same conditions: 20.9%
Issues remanded
21.0%
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 | 493 | 38.1% | 17.2% | 20.5% | 51.2% |
| Hearing loss | 287 | 28.6% | 19.5% | 9.4% | 34.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 240 | 48.3% | 26.1% | 19.6% | 50.5% |
| Tinnitus | 226 | 52.2% | 39.6% | 5.8% | 22.8% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 209 | 45.5% | 28.8% | 15.3% | 38.2% |
| Hip impairment | 166 | 22.9% | 14.3% | 20.5% | 54.0% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 161 | 37.3% | 20.6% | 22.4% | 46.1% |
| Migraine | 145 | 46.2% | 30.1% | 16.6% | 42.3% |
| Hypertension | 141 | 37.6% | 17.1% | 19.9% | 48.8% |
| Shoulder impairment | 135 | 37.0% | 14.2% | 15.6% | 53.2% |
| Ankle impairment | 123 | 39.0% | 16.8% | 16.3% | 50.6% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 122 | 35.2% | 18.6% | 18.9% | 48.1% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 81 | 34.6% | 22.0% | 12.3% | 49.7% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 78 | 39.7% | 13.1% | 29.5% | 58.5% |
| Major depressive disorder | 76 | 52.6% | 34.6% | 15.8% | 34.3% |
Judge Ray Barto Slabbekorn, Jr.'s decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 371 | 43.9% | 37.5% | 32.1% |
| 2023 | 499 | 44.9% | 50.5% | 33.1% |
| 2024 | 493 | 47.3% | 54.4% | 21.9% |
| 2025 | 910 | 52.1% | 49.1% | 19.7% |
| 2026 | 366 | 61.2% | 45.9% | 14.2% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Ray Barto Slabbekorn, Jr.'s decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established178
- Service connection established52
- In-service noise exposure conceded46
- Continuity of symptomatology since service25
- Caused by the service-connected disability20
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service13
- Service records negative or silent11
- Criteria met for service connection9
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis101
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service71
- Service records negative or silent66
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis62
- Current diagnosis established41
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim19
- Evidence persuasively favors denial17
- Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection15
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 Ray Barto Slabbekorn, Jr. decisions
Granted
Current bilateral sensorineural hearing loss established.; Continuity of symptomatology since service.; Negative VA nexus opinion afforded low probative weight due to flawed reasoning and contradictory aspects of cited IOM report.; Benefit of the doubt afforded due to discrepancy between separation exam and service onset of symptoms.
Current diagnosis of sleep apnea established.; Private physician opinion found at least as likely as not that sleep apnea was directly attributable to long-term consequences of service-connected PTSD and related conditions.; No contrary medical opinion of record.
Painful motion and functional loss due to flexion limited to 30 degrees; Discounted ameliorative effects of medication; Applied benefit of the doubt
Denied
VA C&P exam diagnosed PTSD and noted deficiencies in most areas of occupational and social functioning.; Private psychological evaluation opined inability to perform full-time competitive work but did not conclude total impairment.; Board found VA examiner's opinion more probative and aligned with 70 percent criteria.
Contemporaneous medical evidence did not support severe functional loss.; Evidence persuasively weighed against a high level of limitation or disability.; Benefit-of-the-doubt rule did not change the outcome as evidence favored denial of increase.
Evidence persuasively weighs against a rating in excess of 10 percent.; Range of motion measurements did not meet criteria for 20 percent rating.; No evidence of severe muscle spasm or abnormal gait/spinal contour.
Research your Judge Ray Barto Slabbekorn, Jr. case
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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 (2021–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.