Veterans take another battle to the U.S. Supreme Court

Many of the nation’s veterans have fought battles with the federal agency responsible for awarding benefits for their service-connected injuries and illnesses. This week, the veterans fight again, but in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Over the years, their battles with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs often involved complaints about an unwieldy, lengthy, ultimately unfair, claims process that seemed to defeat the intention to create a non-adversarial, veteran-friendly system. Over time, Congress did respond to some veterans’ complaints and lawsuits.

One important change was Congress’ creation in 1988 of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. That court is tasked with hearing veterans’ appeals from allegedly erroneous decisions on their claims by the department’s board of veterans appeals. The backstop to that court is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Joshua Bufkin, an Air Force veteran, and Norman Thornton, an Army veteran, separately sought disability benefits for service-connected, post-traumatic stress disorder. Their claims were denied by the board of veterans appeals and those decisions were subsequently affirmed by the Veterans Court.