Veterans Law Judge
Judge Steven V. Adler: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2023 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Steven V. Adler signed 2,050 Board decisions covering 3,380 condition issues. The judge granted 10.3% of those issues, denied 23.3% and remanded 57.3%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 20.4% and remanded 46.2%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
2,050
2023–2026
Issues decided
3,380
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
10.3%
Board, same conditions: 20.4%
Issues remanded
57.3%
Board, same conditions: 46.2%
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 | 249 | 6.0% | 17.3% | 69.9% | 51.1% |
| Hearing loss | 185 | 8.1% | 19.5% | 44.3% | 34.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 159 | 11.3% | 26.3% | 70.4% | 50.3% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 147 | 21.1% | 28.9% | 41.5% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 120 | 15.8% | 39.6% | 40.8% | 22.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 97 | 13.4% | 20.7% | 68.0% | 46.0% |
| Hypertension | 96 | 7.3% | 17.2% | 60.4% | 48.7% |
| Migraine | 91 | 17.6% | 30.2% | 54.9% | 42.1% |
| Ankle impairment | 82 | 7.3% | 16.9% | 74.4% | 50.4% |
| Shoulder impairment | 82 | 8.5% | 14.3% | 73.2% | 53.0% |
| Hip impairment | 78 | 2.6% | 14.4% | 89.7% | 53.7% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 76 | 10.5% | 20.6% | 61.8% | 51.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 64 | 12.5% | 18.7% | 65.6% | 48.0% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 58 | 13.8% | 22.0% | 44.8% | 49.5% |
| Major depressive disorder | 45 | 20.0% | 34.6% | 46.7% | 34.2% |
Judge Steven V. Adler's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 233 | 24.5% | 21.5% | 56.7% |
| 2024 | 603 | 21.6% | 30.0% | 45.9% |
| 2025 | 937 | 19.4% | 36.5% | 49.8% |
| 2026 | 277 | 20.9% | 27.4% | 59.6% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Steven V. Adler's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established50
- Service connection established20
- Caused by the service-connected disability10
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service4
- Evidence approximately balanced3
- In-service injury documented in private and service treatment records2
- Favorable finding of current ddd of the cervical spine by ro2
- Migraine headaches rated under DC 81002
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis65
- Current diagnosis established17
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service14
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis12
- Service records negative or silent9
- Already at the maximum schedular rating8
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim8
- Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection7
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 V. Adler decisions
Granted
Current diagnosis of major depressive disorder.; Service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.; Private medical opinion found it more likely than not that the psychiatric disorder is related to service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.
Evidence of current diagnosis from VA examination; Evidence of in-service complaints of pain and functional difficulty in cold weather; Persuasive private medical opinion finding highly likely related to military cold exposure
Current diagnosis of sleep apnea established.; In-service exposure to organic solvents confirmed by Veteran's testimony.; Private medical opinion provided a favorable nexus between exposure and sleep apnea.
Denied
No competent evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of right knee condition; Low threshold for VA examination not met; Veteran's testimony regarding leg cramps insufficient for nexus
No evidence of penile deformity; No evidence of loss of erectile power with deformity; Veteran's lay statements did not establish criteria for compensable rating
No current disability meeting VA definition for right ear hearing loss.; In-service threshold shifts were not severe enough.; Post-service records did not reflect disability meeting VA criteria.
Research your Judge Steven V. Adler 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 (2023–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.