Veterans Law Judge
Judge S. F. Keane: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2022 to 2025, Veterans Law Judge S. F. Keane signed 1,224 Board decisions covering 2,204 condition issues. The judge granted 18.7% of those issues, denied 39.3% and remanded 38.3%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 21.1% and remanded 45.2%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
1,224
2022–2025
Issues decided
2,204
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
18.7%
Board, same conditions: 21.1%
Issues remanded
38.3%
Board, same conditions: 45.2%
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 | 185 | 18.4% | 17.3% | 36.8% | 51.1% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 98 | 23.5% | 28.9% | 25.5% | 38.1% |
| Hearing loss | 81 | 8.6% | 19.5% | 27.2% | 34.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 80 | 23.8% | 26.2% | 51.2% | 50.3% |
| Tinnitus | 77 | 29.9% | 39.6% | 19.5% | 22.8% |
| Migraine | 66 | 28.8% | 30.2% | 33.3% | 42.2% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 66 | 15.2% | 20.7% | 39.4% | 46.1% |
| Shoulder impairment | 58 | 17.2% | 14.3% | 41.4% | 53.0% |
| Hypertension | 56 | 23.2% | 17.1% | 28.6% | 48.8% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 54 | 18.5% | 18.7% | 31.5% | 48.1% |
| Hip impairment | 48 | 8.3% | 14.3% | 70.8% | 53.8% |
| Ankle impairment | 42 | 9.5% | 16.9% | 38.1% | 50.4% |
| Major depressive disorder | 36 | 16.7% | 34.6% | 30.6% | 34.2% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 33 | 18.2% | 13.1% | 39.4% | 58.4% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve | 33 | 18.2% | 39.0% | 15.2% | 4.9% |
Judge S. F. Keane's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 383 | 30.8% | 46.0% | 43.9% |
| 2024 | 829 | 28.5% | 46.9% | 41.6% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge S. F. Keane's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established21
- Service connection established13
- Evidence evenly balanced12
- Criteria for service connection met5
- Evidence evenly balanced regarding unemployability4
- Caused by the service-connected disability4
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service4
- Evidence evenly balanced for 30% rating3
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis35
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis23
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service22
- Service records negative or silent19
- Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection16
- Current diagnosis established15
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim10
- Already at the maximum schedular rating6
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. F. Keane decisions
Granted
Veteran continuously pursued claim since January 7, 2020.; MDD symptoms approximated 70 percent rating criteria.; Granted earlier effective date for 70 percent MDD evaluation.
Holistic analysis of all symptoms considered; Symptoms approximated total occupational and social impairment; Met criteria for 100% rating under DC 9411
Grant of service connection for right hip disability; Effective date of February 24, 2006 established; February 2006 letter considered intent to file
Denied
No in-service event, injury, or illness identified as cause; Service treatment records indicated no psychiatric issues; Onset of symptoms occurred more than two years after service
Evidence did not indicate severe functional impairment.; Pain was intermittent and primarily with weight-bearing.; Denied rating higher than 10 percent.
Disability evaluated under DC 5237 for thoracolumbar spine strain.; Forward flexion measured at 0-60 degrees, meeting 20% criteria.; Forward flexion did not meet 40% criteria (30 degrees or less).
Research your Judge S. F. Keane 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 (2022–2025) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.