The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against two veterans who argued their disability claims were unfairly denied despite balanced evidence. In a 7-2 decision, the Court stated that the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims doesn’t have to review the VA’s use of the “benefit-of-the-doubt” rule, which mandates approval when evidence for and against a claim is roughly equal.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, clarified that the claims court should only check for errors in adjudicators’ decisions, not re-evaluate the evidence under the benefit-of-the-doubt standard.

The case involved two veterans: Joshua Bufkin, whose PTSD claim was rejected due to conflicting medical opinions, and Norman Thornton, who sought a higher PTSD rating. Both had their claims denied after the VA reviewed the evidence, and the Veterans Court and Federal Circuit Court agreed no benefit-of-the-doubt review was necessary.

In dissent, Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Neil Gorsuch argued that veterans deserve the benefit of the doubt as intended by Congress.