Veterans Law Judge
Judge S. Kim: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2020 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge S. Kim signed 586 Board decisions covering 1,001 condition issues. The judge granted 23.0% of those issues, denied 18.3% and remanded 57.2%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 21.0% and remanded 46.6%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
586
2020–2026
Issues decided
1,001
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
23.0%
Board, same conditions: 21.0%
Issues remanded
57.2%
Board, same conditions: 46.6%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 90 | 26.7% | 26.2% | 64.4% | 50.3% |
| Knee impairment | 72 | 16.7% | 17.3% | 58.3% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 61 | 11.5% | 19.5% | 36.1% | 34.6% |
| Tinnitus | 50 | 50.0% | 39.6% | 28.0% | 22.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 43 | 30.2% | 18.6% | 60.5% | 48.0% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 42 | 38.1% | 28.9% | 35.7% | 38.1% |
| Migraine | 34 | 35.3% | 30.1% | 55.9% | 42.2% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 32 | 21.9% | 20.7% | 56.3% | 46.1% |
| Hip impairment | 22 | 9.1% | 14.3% | 77.3% | 53.8% |
| Shoulder impairment | 22 | 22.7% | 14.3% | 54.5% | 53.0% |
Judge S. Kim's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 32 | 25.0% | 28.1% | 84.4% |
| 2023 | 171 | 33.3% | 22.2% | 60.8% |
| 2024 | 261 | 31.8% | 15.3% | 63.2% |
| 2025 | 88 | 42.0% | 27.3% | 50.0% |
| 2026 | 34 | 44.1% | 44.1% | 44.1% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge S. Kim's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established9
- Caused by the service-connected disability6
- Service connection established5
- In-service noise exposure conceded4
- Criteria for service connection met3
- VA opinion found inadequate2
- Private opinion found probative2
- Continuity of symptomatology since service2
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis13
- Service records negative or silent9
- Current diagnosis established8
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim4
- VA examiner provided negative nexus opinion3
- Evidence persuasively weighs against claim3
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service3
- Evidence persuasively weighs against the claim2
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. Kim decisions
Granted
Evidence in approximate balance for 10% rating under pre-amended DC 7346; Evidence weighs against higher rating due to lack of substernal pain or recurrent esophageal stricture; Benefit of the doubt applied for 10% rating
Claim implicitly part of myasthenia gravis claim; Intent to file established for myasthenia gravis; Granted effective date of July 16, 2019
Veteran continuously pursued claim since September 20, 2024.; Effective date of September 20, 2024, warranted for service connection.
Denied
No established diagnosis of IBS or functional gastrointestinal disorder.; Veteran lacks expertise to diagnose IBS.; Service treatment records silent for IBS complaints/diagnosis.; Evidence weighs against current diagnosis or link to service/TERA.
Service treatment records silent for diagnosis or complaints related to right ear hearing loss.; In-service audiometric testing did not reveal hearing loss for VA purposes.; Addendum opinion based on separation audiogram concluded no significant threshold shift for the right ear in service.; Board gave more probative value to the addendum opinion over the initial favorable opinion based on inaccurate facts.; Veteran's lay testimony regarding diagnosis and severity of hearing loss was not competent medical evidence.
Overlapping symptomatology between PTSD and MDD; Pyramiding rule violation; Existing 100% rating for MDD contemplates PTSD symptoms
Research your Judge S. Kim 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 (2020–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.