Veterans Law Judge
Judge T. Mainelli: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2017 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge T. Mainelli signed 7,683 Board decisions covering 14,822 condition issues. The judge granted 19.9% of those issues, denied 17.9% and remanded 58.8%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.5% and remanded 47.5%, so this judge's grant rate is close to the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
7,683
2017–2026
Issues decided
14,822
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
19.9%
Board, same conditions: 19.5%
Issues remanded
58.8%
Board, same conditions: 47.5%
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 | 1,145 | 13.9% | 17.3% | 70.6% | 51.0% |
| Hearing loss | 734 | 23.2% | 19.5% | 42.2% | 34.5% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 669 | 27.7% | 28.9% | 47.7% | 38.0% |
| Tinnitus | 514 | 40.7% | 39.6% | 30.4% | 22.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 513 | 20.3% | 20.7% | 57.1% | 46.0% |
| Hypertension | 451 | 14.6% | 17.2% | 65.6% | 48.6% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 441 | 31.3% | 26.2% | 53.7% | 50.3% |
| Shoulder impairment | 330 | 12.1% | 14.3% | 67.3% | 52.9% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 326 | 18.7% | 18.7% | 58.6% | 48.0% |
| Migraine | 311 | 29.6% | 30.2% | 49.8% | 42.1% |
| Hip impairment | 289 | 15.9% | 14.3% | 61.2% | 53.7% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 274 | 28.5% | 20.5% | 58.8% | 51.6% |
| Ankle impairment | 251 | 15.1% | 16.9% | 64.1% | 50.3% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 238 | 24.4% | 19.9% | 52.9% | 40.0% |
| Cervical spine limitation of motion | 209 | 18.2% | 13.1% | 65.1% | 58.3% |
Judge T. Mainelli's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 568 | 28.9% | 25.7% | 65.0% |
| 2018 | 804 | 30.7% | 24.4% | 66.3% |
| 2019 | 845 | 36.9% | 31.7% | 62.8% |
| 2020 | 956 | 33.9% | 25.6% | 59.4% |
| 2021 | 790 | 27.3% | 29.0% | 63.0% |
| 2022 | 753 | 39.2% | 25.2% | 60.3% |
| 2023 | 817 | 32.2% | 22.9% | 65.5% |
| 2024 | 842 | 32.7% | 25.1% | 54.3% |
| 2025 | 944 | 37.7% | 25.5% | 44.2% |
| 2026 | 364 | 36.5% | 30.2% | 47.0% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge T. Mainelli's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established110
- Service connection established59
- Caused by the service-connected disability43
- In-service noise exposure conceded41
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service31
- Continuity of symptomatology since service30
- New and material evidence submitted15
- Criteria for service connection met14
Most common reasons in denials
- Service records negative or silent125
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service125
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim105
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis72
- No current diagnosis63
- Already at the maximum schedular rating38
- Current diagnosis established28
- Continuity of symptomatology since service19
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. Mainelli decisions
Granted
Lay and medical evidence demonstrate symptoms of anxiety, irritability, memory loss, obsessive security behaviors, and difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances.; Veteran's testimony and records show deficiencies in most areas of occupational and social impairment.; Reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran, approximating the criteria for a 70 percent rating.
Lay testimony and private treatment records show painful limited motion, instability, swelling, and weakness.; VA exam showed limited motion (dorsiflexion to 10 degrees, plantar flexion to 25 degrees) with pain, crepitus, and tenderness.; Board considered functional impairment beyond range of motion, including instability and pain, consistent with marked limitation under DC 5271.
New and relevant evidence received sufficient to readjudicate claim.; Lay statements from fellow servicemember and family corroborate trauma and behavioral changes.; VA examiners diagnosed PTSD and found it at least as likely as not related to service trauma.; Evidence in equipoise, granting service connection.
Denied
No medical evidence of record for the time frame in question prior to May 2022.; Lay evidence did not pinpoint a specific earlier date for worsening of disability.; Audiometric findings from June 2023 were consistent with a noncompensable rating.
Service treatment records and VA treatment records showed no changes to Veteran's hearing.; March 2024 VA audiological exam: Right ear avg 36.25 dB, Left ear avg 42.50 dB; Maryland CNC scores 98% both ears; Table VI/VII rating noncompensable.; April 2024 VA audiological exam: Right ear avg 37.50 dB, Left ear avg 46.25 dB; Maryland CNC scores 98% right, 100% left; Table VI/VII rating noncompensable.; No exceptional pattern of hearing impairment under 38 C.F.R. § 4.86 found.; Persuasive evidence is against a compensable disability rating.
No evidence of right hip flexion limited to 45 degrees or less.; December 2019 VA DBQ showed flexion limited to 100 degrees.; November 2024 VA DBQ showed flexion limited to 45 degrees.
Research your Judge T. Mainelli 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.