Veterans Law Judge
Judge S. Sorathia: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2019 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge S. Sorathia signed 2,504 Board decisions covering 3,720 condition issues. The judge granted 26.7% of those issues, denied 27.9% and remanded 42.8%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.8% and remanded 46.5%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
2,504
2019–2026
Issues decided
3,720
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
26.7%
Board, same conditions: 20.8%
Issues remanded
42.8%
Board, same conditions: 46.5%
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 | 272 | 36.4% | 17.2% | 36.8% | 51.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 197 | 37.6% | 26.2% | 49.2% | 50.3% |
| Hearing loss | 191 | 23.6% | 19.5% | 35.1% | 34.6% |
| Tinnitus | 181 | 50.3% | 39.6% | 15.5% | 22.8% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 167 | 34.1% | 28.9% | 37.7% | 38.1% |
| Shoulder impairment | 112 | 26.8% | 14.3% | 52.7% | 53.0% |
| Migraine | 105 | 34.3% | 30.1% | 36.2% | 42.2% |
| Hip impairment | 98 | 23.5% | 14.3% | 43.9% | 53.8% |
| Hypertension | 97 | 21.6% | 17.1% | 45.4% | 48.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 96 | 37.5% | 20.6% | 35.4% | 46.1% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 92 | 31.5% | 18.6% | 44.6% | 48.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 80 | 26.3% | 16.8% | 42.5% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 64 | 12.5% | 20.0% | 37.5% | 40.1% |
| Major depressive disorder | 62 | 38.7% | 34.6% | 29.0% | 34.2% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 56 | 37.5% | 13.1% | 42.9% | 58.4% |
Judge S. Sorathia's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 46 | 15.2% | 8.7% | 76.1% |
| 2020 | 27 | 33.3% | 14.8% | 25.9% |
| 2021 | 168 | 37.5% | 19.0% | 46.4% |
| 2022 | 126 | 34.1% | 21.4% | 50.8% |
| 2023 | 369 | 34.1% | 27.1% | 50.4% |
| 2024 | 460 | 37.0% | 25.0% | 37.0% |
| 2025 | 948 | 27.8% | 42.4% | 39.0% |
| 2026 | 360 | 45.0% | 34.2% | 25.8% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge S. Sorathia's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established74
- Caused by the service-connected disability24
- Service connection established20
- In-service noise exposure conceded11
- Continuity of symptomatology since service9
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability9
- VA examiner's opinion found inadequate5
- Resolving all doubt in veteran's favor4
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis53
- Current diagnosis established34
- Service records negative or silent33
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service31
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis18
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim16
- Already at the maximum schedular rating14
- Criteria for service connection not met6
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. Sorathia decisions
Granted
Private medical opinion found OSA secondary to weight gain from service-connected insomnia disorder.; VA opinions failed to adequately address the Veteran's theory of weight gain from psychiatric disorder causing OSA.; Benefit of the doubt doctrine applied.
Lay statements consistent with service; STRs show complaint of ankle pain; Benefit of the doubt applied
Evidence of pyrosis and infrequent epigastric distress supports 10% rating.; Benefit of doubt applied to find epigastric distress more frequent than described.; No evidence of dysphagia, substernal pain, or considerable impairment of health to warrant higher rating.
Denied
Original decision granted service connection and 10% rating for bilateral pes planus.; Arguments for CUE based on MEB report and higher rating criteria (30% or 50%) were found to be disagreements with evidence weighing, not CUE.; MEB report did not show severe/pronounced deformity required for higher ratings under DC 5276.
No undebatable error found in prior rating decisions regarding effective date.; August 1975 service record showing limited motion was less probative than October 1977 VA exam showing full range of motion.; Rating criteria changed in 1995; increased rating claim in 1997 was based on new criteria.
Evidence does not establish total occupational and social impairment.; Symptoms did not rise to the level for 100 percent rating.; Current 70 percent rating is adequate.
Research your Judge S. Sorathia 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 (2019–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.