Veterans Law Judge
Judge T. Blake Carter: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2018 to 2025, Veterans Law Judge T. Blake Carter signed 337 Board decisions covering 773 condition issues. The judge granted 14.7% of those issues, denied 29.8% and remanded 54.1%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.1% and remanded 48.0%, so this judge's grant rate is below the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
337
2018–2025
Issues decided
773
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
14.7%
Board, same conditions: 19.1%
Issues remanded
54.1%
Board, same conditions: 48.0%
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 | 60 | 6.7% | 17.3% | 68.3% | 51.1% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 46 | 21.7% | 28.9% | 41.3% | 38.1% |
| Hearing loss | 25 | 16.0% | 19.5% | 32.0% | 34.6% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 25 | 24.0% | 20.7% | 48.0% | 46.1% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 23 | 0.0% | 20.6% | 60.9% | 51.7% |
| Hypertension | 23 | 17.4% | 17.2% | 65.2% | 48.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 21 | 4.8% | 26.2% | 81.0% | 50.3% |
| Shoulder impairment | 21 | 9.5% | 14.3% | 52.4% | 53.0% |
Judge T. Blake Carter's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 50 | 38.0% | 42.0% | 70.0% |
| 2019 | 33 | 21.2% | 42.4% | 60.6% |
| 2020 | 70 | 30.0% | 51.4% | 50.0% |
| 2021 | 53 | 17.0% | 50.9% | 66.0% |
| 2022 | 120 | 32.5% | 45.8% | 56.7% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge T. Blake Carter's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established7
- Caused by the service-connected disability5
- No contrary medical opinion of record3
- Service connection established3
- In-service noise exposure conceded2
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim12
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis8
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service7
- No current diagnosis7
- Service records negative or silent3
- Already at the maximum schedular rating3
- Current diagnosis established3
- No legal basis for a higher rating3
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 T. Blake Carter decisions
Granted
Veteran's combined disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment.; Right thumb injury impacts ability to perform office jobs.; IBS requires frequent bathroom breaks and flexible schedule.; Endometriosis requires limited schedule due to pelvic pain.; Major depressive disorder causes motivation, concentration, and fatigue issues.
Symptoms met criteria for severe IBS; Daily abdominal distress, alternating diarrhea/constipation; Rating of 30% warranted prior to Jan 29, 2021
Veteran's reported migraine frequency (multiple times monthly to daily) and severity (requiring ER visits, leave from work) more closely approximated 50% criteria than the initial 10% rating.; Migraine headaches are rated under DC 8100, with 50% for very frequent, completely prostrating, prolonged attacks causing severe economic inadaptability.; Separate rating for migraine headaches is permissible as they are distinguishable from service-connected sinus headaches.
Denied
Service treatment records do not document sleep apnea or related symptoms.; VA examinations found obstructive sleep apnea diagnosed post-service.; VA examiners opined less likely than not related to in-service headaches or polycythemia vera.; VA examiner found polycythemia vera etiology unknown and not linked to sleep apnea.; VA opinions found more persuasive due to thoroughness and detail.
Diagnosed with 'White Without Pressure' retinal condition; Condition found to be congenital and asymptomatic; Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection
Conflicting medical opinions on CLCW link; VA opinion found no link to TCE/PCE contaminants; Private opinion lacked specific lab results and clear rationale
Research your Judge T. Blake Carter 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 (2018–2025) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.