Veterans Law Judge
Judge Thomas L. English: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2025 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Thomas L. English signed 1,480 Board decisions covering 2,949 condition issues. The judge granted 30.3% of those issues, denied 19.3% and remanded 49.1%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.5% and remanded 48.0%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is close to it.
Decisions
1,480
2025–2026
Issues decided
2,949
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
30.3%
Board, same conditions: 19.5%
Issues remanded
49.1%
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 | 230 | 34.8% | 17.2% | 49.1% | 51.1% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 131 | 42.7% | 26.2% | 44.3% | 50.3% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 105 | 46.7% | 28.9% | 35.2% | 38.1% |
| Hip impairment | 104 | 20.2% | 14.3% | 69.2% | 53.8% |
| Tinnitus | 102 | 52.0% | 39.6% | 14.7% | 22.8% |
| Hearing loss | 99 | 22.2% | 19.5% | 26.3% | 34.6% |
| Migraine | 83 | 42.2% | 30.1% | 43.4% | 42.2% |
| Shoulder impairment | 78 | 51.3% | 14.2% | 35.9% | 53.1% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 77 | 39.0% | 20.6% | 49.4% | 46.1% |
| Hypertension | 76 | 19.7% | 17.2% | 55.3% | 48.7% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 63 | 30.2% | 18.6% | 52.4% | 48.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 50 | 38.0% | 16.8% | 44.0% | 50.4% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 49 | 44.9% | 19.9% | 36.7% | 40.1% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 43 | 53.5% | 20.5% | 23.3% | 51.7% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 41 | 4.9% | 22.0% | 82.9% | 49.5% |
Judge Thomas L. English's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,108 | 42.5% | 26.2% | 49.1% |
| 2026 | 372 | 57.5% | 32.0% | 32.5% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Thomas L. English's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established119
- Service connection established29
- Continuity of symptomatology since service25
- Caused by the service-connected disability12
- Private opinion found competent, credible, and probative5
- Positive nexus opinion from VA examiner5
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service5
- In-service noise exposure conceded5
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis48
- Service records negative or silent20
- Current diagnosis established16
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis15
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service11
- Already at the maximum schedular rating8
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim7
- Evidence persuasively against claim5
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 Thomas L. English decisions
Granted
Incurred during service; Reasonably encompassed by claim; Resolved reasonable doubt in favor
Current diagnosis of other specified trauma and stressor related disorder confirmed.; Corroborated in-service event (dropped in ocean) linked to psychiatric condition.; VA examiner found condition at least as likely as not related to service.
Veteran served in Korea near DMZ during presumptive herbicide exposure period.; Lay testimony regarding duties and location corroborated by service records.; Benefit of the doubt applied to grant presumptive service connection.
Denied
No claim for heart condition filed within applicable Nehmer timeframe (Sept 25, 1985 - Aug 31, 2010); Ischemic heart disease added to presumptive list Aug 31, 2010; No evidence of diagnosis prior to Aug 31, 2010
Intent to File date of September 6, 2019 is the correct effective date.; No earlier claim filed.; Arguments for earlier effective date lacked specific rationale.
Already assigned maximum 10% rating; No basis for higher rating presented; No extraschedular rating warranted
Research your Judge Thomas L. English 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 (2025–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.