Veterans Law Judge
Judge Tiffany Dawson: BVA decisions and outcomes
From 2020 to 2026, Veterans Law Judge Tiffany Dawson signed 5,470 Board decisions covering 10,364 condition issues. The judge granted 25.1% of those issues, denied 16.0% and remanded 56.6%. For the same mix of conditions, the rest of the Board granted 19.9% and remanded 47.2%, so this judge's grant rate is above the Board's and the remand rate is above it.
Decisions
5,470
2020–2026
Issues decided
10,364
One issue per condition per decision
Issues granted
25.1%
Board, same conditions: 19.9%
Issues remanded
56.6%
Board, same conditions: 47.2%
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 | 729 | 19.3% | 17.3% | 68.2% | 51.0% |
| Hearing loss | 518 | 26.8% | 19.4% | 39.8% | 34.6% |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 488 | 44.9% | 28.8% | 37.7% | 38.1% |
| Tinnitus | 360 | 43.6% | 39.6% | 24.7% | 22.7% |
| Sleep apnea syndromes (obstructive central mixed) | 357 | 31.9% | 26.2% | 58.3% | 50.3% |
| Hypertension | 323 | 21.1% | 17.1% | 59.4% | 48.7% |
| Degenerative arthritis of the spine (spondylosis) | 307 | 29.3% | 20.6% | 53.4% | 46.0% |
| Intervertebral disc syndrome | 294 | 27.2% | 18.6% | 57.8% | 48.0% |
| Shoulder impairment | 253 | 16.6% | 14.3% | 67.2% | 52.9% |
| Migraine | 227 | 39.2% | 30.1% | 48.0% | 42.1% |
| Hip impairment | 213 | 15.5% | 14.3% | 70.9% | 53.7% |
| Peripheral nerve disorders | 207 | 26.6% | 20.5% | 53.1% | 51.7% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 160 | 19.4% | 20.0% | 53.1% | 40.0% |
| Ankle impairment | 154 | 22.1% | 16.8% | 61.0% | 50.4% |
| Paralysis of sciatic nerve or external popliteal nerve | 145 | 29.7% | 22.0% | 59.3% | 49.5% |
Judge Tiffany Dawson's decisions by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 407 | 29.7% | 28.5% | 52.3% |
| 2021 | 1,112 | 33.4% | 27.7% | 57.7% |
| 2022 | 778 | 42.0% | 23.7% | 58.7% |
| 2023 | 1,055 | 35.6% | 19.2% | 58.1% |
| 2024 | 851 | 38.0% | 21.4% | 51.7% |
| 2025 | 928 | 43.2% | 26.1% | 51.8% |
| 2026 | 339 | 39.2% | 19.8% | 51.6% |
Why the Board granted or denied issues in Judge Tiffany Dawson's decisions
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established179
- Service connection established66
- Continuity of symptomatology since service41
- Caused by the service-connected disability39
- In-service noise exposure conceded36
- Severance of service connection was improper12
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service12
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability9
Most common reasons in denials
- No current diagnosis70
- Service records negative or silent62
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim59
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis59
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service59
- Current diagnosis established44
- Already at the maximum schedular rating27
- No legal basis for a higher rating10
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 Tiffany Dawson decisions
Granted
Favorable finding of current disability by AOJ; Lay statements of onset in service corroborated by STRs; VA examiner's opinion against service connection was inadequately reasoned; Benefit of the doubt resolved in Veteran's favor
Current disability established; In-service event noted in service treatment records; Nexus established by private medical opinion; VA examiner erred by focusing on continuity of care
Satisfied existence of current disability (January 2021 VA exam diagnosis); Satisfied in-service incurrence (bee sting event in service, credible witness letters); Satisfied nexus (equipoise resolved in Veteran's favor)
Denied
No medical nexus established between tinnitus and diabetes mellitus.; VA opinions found conditions to be separate entities.; Medical literature failed to demonstrate a causal relationship.
No in-service complaints or diagnoses; No continuity of symptomatology; Attributed to post-service injury; Statements of continuity not credible
No in-service symptoms or diagnoses related to kidneys.; Separation exam showed normal genitourinary system.; VA examiner opined ESRD less likely than not caused by herbicide exposure.; ESRD not presumptively associated with herbicide exposure.; No evidence demonstrated ESRD related to service or herbicide exposure.; ESRD did not begin in service and continue since service.
Research your Judge Tiffany Dawson 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 (2020–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.