In Bufkin v. Collins, the Supreme Court ruled that federal appellate courts are not required to reweigh how the VA applies the “benefit-of-the-doubt” rule in disability cases, unless there is a clear and obvious error. That means when evidence is evenly balanced, judges on appeal generally must accept the VA’s call rather than make their own. The Court stressed that the VA, not the courts, has the medical expertise and institutional role to weigh conflicting records, especially in complex conditions like PTSD.
For veterans, this shifts the real fight to the very beginning of the process. Claims now live or die mostly at the VA level, where the record is built and the benefit-of-the-doubt rule is first applied. Appeals remain possible, but they will be steeper, narrower, and more technical. The decision brings legal clarity—but at the cost of leaving many veterans feeling more alone in a system they already feared.
