Veterans Law Judge
Judge S. Charles Neill: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2021 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge S. Charles Neill signed 3,520 Board decisions covering 6,406 condition issues. The judge granted 18.5% of those issues, denied 26.3% and remanded 53.2%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.8% and remanded 47.9%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
3,520
2021–2026
Issues decided
6,406
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
18.5%
Board, same conditions: 19.8%
Issues remanded
53.2%
Board, same conditions: 47.9%
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 | 442 | 16.5% | 17.3% | 53.2% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 291 | 8.6% | 19.5% | 38.8% | 34.6% |
| Tinnitus | 269 | 35.7% | 39.6% | 25.7% | 22.7% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 255 | 25.9% | 28.9% | 43.9% | 38.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 219 | 23.3% | 26.2% | 56.6% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 190 | 21.1% | 17.1% | 49.5% | 48.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 180 | 26.1% | 20.6% | 50.0% | 46.0% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 167 | 13.8% | 18.7% | 50.3% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 146 | 26.0% | 30.2% | 50.7% | 42.1% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 144 | 26.4% | 20.5% | 51.4% | 51.7% |
| Shoulder impairment | 139 | 12.9% | 14.3% | 51.1% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 130 | 16.9% | 14.3% | 57.7% | 53.8% |
| Ankle impairment | 118 | 9.3% | 16.9% | 55.1% | 50.4% |
| Major depressive disorder | 94 | 33.0% | 34.6% | 39.4% | 34.2% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 90 | 16.7% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 40.0% |
Judge S. Charles Neill's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 491 | 28.1% | 33.2% | 57.2% |
| 2023 | 805 | 22.7% | 35.3% | 57.1% |
| 2024 | 993 | 30.9% | 31.6% | 42.9% |
| 2025 | 889 | 30.7% | 33.4% | 48.5% |
| 2026 | 336 | 41.4% | 32.7% | 43.2% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge S. Charles Neill's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established114
- Service connection established33
- Continuity of symptomatology since service23
- Caused by the service-connected disability21
- In-service noise exposure conceded15
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service7
- Veteran served in southwest asia during persian gulf war era6
- Continuous symptomology since service5
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis88
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service57
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis54
- Current diagnosis established49
- Service records negative or silent39
- Evidence persuasively weighs against the claim21
- Already at the maximum schedular rating18
- Evidence persuasively weighs against claim16
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 S. Charles Neill decisions
Granted
Combined disabilities meet schedular requirements for TDIU; Resolving reasonable doubt in Veteran's favor; Unable to maintain substantially gainful employment
Service-connected stroke residuals render veteran unable to care for himself; Veteran requires regular aid and attendance for protection from daily hazards; Favorable findings from VA examinations and rating decisions relied upon
TDIU claim raised in November 2011 correspondence.; November 2011 claim within one-year lookback for November 2010 increased rating claim.; TDIU considered part and parcel of increased rating claims.
Denied
Contemporaneous evidence more probative than retrospective opinion; Symptoms do not meet criteria for total occupational and social impairment; Failed to reconcile conflicting findings and explain total impairment conclusion
Evidence did not support flexion limitation to 30 degrees or worse.; Current rating of 10 percent is maximum warranted based on evidence.
Evidence did not support 30% rating criteria (once a month attacks); Headaches averaged once every two months; No medical evidence for period forward
Research your Judge S. Charles Neill 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 (2021–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.