Veterans Law Judge
Judge Steven D. Reiss: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Steven D. Reiss signed 11,935 Board decisions covering 25,590 condition issues. The judge granted 35.7% of those issues, denied 19.0% and remanded 41.7%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.1% and remanded 48.2%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is below it.
Decisions
11,935
2017–2026
Issues decided
25,590
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
35.7%
Board, same conditions: 19.1%
Issues remanded
41.7%
Board, same conditions: 48.2%
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 | 2,174 | 39.1% | 16.9% | 37.3% | 51.3% |
| Hearing loss | 1,240 | 36.0% | 19.3% | 29.0% | 34.7% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 1,159 | 48.5% | 28.6% | 24.0% | 38.3% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 886 | 52.1% | 20.2% | 25.5% | 46.4% |
| Hypertension | 775 | 25.0% | 17.0% | 50.5% | 48.7% |
| Tinnitus | 743 | 57.2% | 39.4% | 15.1% | 22.8% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 633 | 59.6% | 25.9% | 27.3% | 50.6% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 574 | 49.5% | 18.3% | 29.3% | 48.3% |
| Shoulder impairment | 531 | 41.4% | 14.0% | 37.9% | 53.2% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 487 | 33.5% | 20.4% | 47.4% | 51.8% |
| Migraine | 479 | 66.8% | 29.7% | 18.2% | 42.5% |
| Hip impairment | 470 | 31.9% | 14.1% | 46.4% | 53.9% |
| Ankle impairment | 406 | 46.8% | 16.5% | 36.7% | 50.6% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 397 | 24.2% | 19.9% | 43.1% | 40.0% |
| Major depressive disorder | 356 | 66.9% | 34.1% | 16.0% | 34.5% |
Judge Steven D. Reiss's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1,127 | 40.5% | 31.6% | 50.8% |
| 2018 | 1,281 | 52.5% | 33.0% | 50.7% |
| 2019 | 1,241 | 55.2% | 34.2% | 48.0% |
| 2020 | 1,317 | 53.2% | 41.4% | 43.1% |
| 2021 | 1,311 | 52.2% | 33.7% | 44.9% |
| 2022 | 1,312 | 52.2% | 24.3% | 50.7% |
| 2023 | 1,294 | 55.9% | 24.0% | 45.0% |
| 2024 | 1,290 | 51.2% | 22.4% | 46.0% |
| 2025 | 1,312 | 59.7% | 29.8% | 31.3% |
| 2026 | 450 | 55.8% | 36.2% | 29.6% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Steven D. Reiss's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established442
- Service connection established164
- Caused by the service-connected disability154
- In-service noise exposure conceded83
- Competent and credible lay and medical evidence of record81
- Continuity of symptomatology since service48
- Onset in service established45
- Onset in service43
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim346
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service160
- Service records negative or silent122
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis122
- No current diagnosis114
- Already at the maximum schedular rating74
- Current diagnosis established48
- Criteria for higher rating not met20
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 Steven D. Reiss decisions
Granted
No actual improvement in disability; No actual improvement in ability to function under ordinary conditions; Painful motion documented in prior exams; Veteran's testimony credible
Competent and credible lay testimony regarding onset and continuity of symptoms since service.; Service treatment records reflect a right ankle complaint.; Resolving doubt in Veteran's favor.
Negative service treatment records.; Diagnosis shortly after service separation.; No indication of post-service cause.; No evidence against nexus to service.
Denied
Symptoms more closely approximate occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.; Evidence persuasively against total occupational and social impairment.; Criteria for 100 percent rating are overwhelmingly absent.
No objective audiometric findings in post-service records.; Veteran's hearing loss does not meet criteria in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385.; Veteran's testimony, while credible, is not competent to establish diagnosis for VA purposes.
Diagnosis occurred over 30 years post-service.; No in-service complaints or evidence of diverticular disease.; VA opinions found less likely than not related to service/exposure.; Evidence persuasively weighs against the claim.
Research your Judge Steven D. Reiss 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.