Veterans Law Judge
Judge S. Heneks: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge S. Heneks signed 7,318 Board decisions covering 12,690 condition issues. The judge granted 11.4% of those issues, denied 33.7% and remanded 51.1%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.9% and remanded 47.0%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
7,318
2017–2026
Issues decided
12,690
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
11.4%
Board, same conditions: 19.9%
Issues remanded
51.1%
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 | 993 | 9.8% | 17.3% | 49.4% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 785 | 9.3% | 19.6% | 40.5% | 34.5% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 642 | 17.8% | 29.0% | 50.9% | 38.0% |
| Tinnitus | 502 | 32.9% | 39.6% | 26.7% | 22.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 432 | 9.0% | 20.7% | 49.8% | 46.0% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 405 | 12.8% | 26.3% | 62.2% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 386 | 11.7% | 17.2% | 54.9% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 339 | 10.3% | 18.7% | 49.6% | 48.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 310 | 4.8% | 14.4% | 53.5% | 53.0% |
| Migraine | 284 | 21.8% | 30.2% | 50.0% | 42.1% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 233 | 9.4% | 20.0% | 42.1% | 40.0% |
| Hip impairment | 209 | 6.2% | 14.4% | 54.1% | 53.8% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 197 | 6.1% | 13.2% | 62.9% | 58.3% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 194 | 8.2% | 20.6% | 56.2% | 51.7% |
| Ankle impairment | 180 | 6.1% | 16.9% | 57.8% | 50.4% |
Judge S. Heneks's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 706 | 20.1% | 40.2% | 58.1% |
| 2018 | 884 | 24.2% | 40.5% | 56.6% |
| 2019 | 888 | 23.1% | 41.0% | 55.9% |
| 2020 | 859 | 20.3% | 48.4% | 50.3% |
| 2021 | 705 | 22.4% | 46.0% | 48.7% |
| 2022 | 662 | 22.8% | 34.6% | 55.1% |
| 2023 | 660 | 20.6% | 32.1% | 61.8% |
| 2024 | 750 | 19.6% | 36.5% | 45.9% |
| 2025 | 851 | 21.5% | 41.6% | 41.4% |
| 2026 | 353 | 21.8% | 46.5% | 44.8% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge S. Heneks's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established108
- Service connection established37
- In-service noise exposure conceded28
- Caused by the service-connected disability21
- Criteria for service connection met13
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service13
- Service records negative or silent12
- Conflicting medical opinions regarding nexus9
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service257
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim228
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis205
- Service records negative or silent139
- No current diagnosis126
- Current diagnosis established71
- Already at the maximum schedular rating24
- No evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation22
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. Heneks decisions
Granted
Resolving reasonable doubt in Veteran's favor; OSA causally or etiologically related to service; Obesity as intermediate step from service-connected disabilities
Persistent depressive disorder alone precluded substantially gainful employment; Additional service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60% or more; TDIU award based on persistent depressive disorder
Conflicting medical opinions presented; Evidence in relative equipoise; Benefit of the doubt resolved in Veteran's favor
Denied
No evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation; No nexus to service or claimed exposures; Prostate cancer did not originate in service, within a year of service, or is not otherwise etiologically related to active service
Veteran sought increased rating for left shoulder disability.; VA exam showed limitation of motion to 60 degrees flexion/abduction, 20 degrees rotation.; Evidence did not support limitation to 25 degrees for higher rating.
No documented history of recurrent esophageal stricture causing dysphagia; Veteran's symptoms did not meet criteria for higher rating; Evidence did not reflect inability to work due to GERD severity
Research your Judge S. Heneks 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.