Veterans Law Judge
Judge Ryan T. Kessel: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Ryan T. Kessel signed 9,280 Board decisions covering 15,257 condition issues. The judge granted 16.2% of those issues, denied 21.8% and remanded 58.3%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.6% and remanded 47.6%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
9,280
2017–2026
Issues decided
15,257
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
16.2%
Board, same conditions: 19.6%
Issues remanded
58.3%
Board, same conditions: 47.6%
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 | 1,289 | 15.2% | 17.3% | 62.5% | 51.0% |
| Hearing loss | 913 | 13.4% | 19.5% | 51.7% | 34.4% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 688 | 20.1% | 28.9% | 50.0% | 38.0% |
| Tinnitus | 584 | 23.5% | 39.7% | 42.1% | 22.6% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 532 | 24.8% | 20.6% | 50.2% | 46.0% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 426 | 26.8% | 26.2% | 58.0% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 421 | 13.3% | 17.2% | 56.3% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 401 | 10.0% | 18.7% | 67.6% | 47.9% |
| Shoulder impairment | 343 | 13.4% | 14.3% | 60.3% | 53.0% |
| Migraine | 319 | 21.6% | 30.2% | 58.0% | 42.0% |
| Hip impairment | 304 | 10.2% | 14.4% | 67.1% | 53.7% |
| Ankle impairment | 304 | 15.1% | 16.9% | 65.1% | 50.3% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 260 | 22.7% | 20.5% | 55.4% | 51.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 254 | 19.7% | 20.0% | 49.2% | 40.0% |
| Major depressive disorder | 192 | 37.5% | 34.6% | 40.6% | 34.1% |
Judge Ryan T. Kessel's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 793 | 22.6% | 32.7% | 58.8% |
| 2018 | 830 | 31.8% | 30.2% | 57.1% |
| 2019 | 969 | 27.0% | 30.7% | 59.6% |
| 2020 | 1,001 | 24.1% | 37.5% | 54.3% |
| 2021 | 956 | 25.2% | 31.3% | 51.2% |
| 2022 | 868 | 22.4% | 26.4% | 58.8% |
| 2023 | 1,054 | 19.7% | 27.3% | 57.5% |
| 2024 | 1,278 | 20.0% | 26.7% | 52.3% |
| 2025 | 1,139 | 26.3% | 28.0% | 48.6% |
| 2026 | 392 | 38.3% | 37.2% | 33.7% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Ryan T. Kessel's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established123
- Caused by the service-connected disability49
- Service connection established45
- Criteria for service connection met17
- Severance of service connection was improper13
- Already at the maximum schedular rating13
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service12
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability10
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim233
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service120
- No current diagnosis78
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis72
- Current diagnosis established55
- Service records negative or silent48
- Already at the maximum schedular rating44
- Evidence persuasively against claim28
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 Ryan T. Kessel decisions
Granted
Current disability established; In-service incurrence established; Nexus found due to benefit of the doubt
Evidence in equipoise; Benefit of doubt resolved in Veteran's favor; Credible lay statements regarding in-service chemical exposure
Combat service in Iraq; Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas; Impaired impulse control and difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances
Denied
No in-service treatment or complaints of knee symptoms documented in STRs.; Veteran expressly denied knee symptoms in 1991 service medical history.; Post-service diagnosis of degenerative changes and tendonitis not linked to service.; VA examinations consistently found conditions not related to service.; Veteran's claims of in-service symptoms found not credible due to inconsistencies.
Normal range of motion recorded in VA exams; No severe muscle spasm or guarding; Insufficient evidence of ankylosis
VA examiner opinion found no service connection for headaches.; Examiner cited medical literature supporting conclusion.; Lay statements were considered but given less weight than medical evidence.
Research your Judge Ryan T. Kessel 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.