Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Service members are often exposed to toxins in service. When they file claims for disability compensation, they struggle to link their diseases to toxic exposure while serving. Congress stepped in to ease their burden by creating presumptions, relieving the veterans of the burden of proving a nexus between the exposure and their disease. In 2022, Congress enacted the PACT Act which expanded presumptive service connection for veterans whose service involved exposure to toxic substances. But, for veterans whose conditions do not fall within these presumptions, problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) benefits adjudication system make it difficult to prove direct service connection. First, VA too often wrongfully develops to deny, which means that even if a veteran submits adequate medical evidence connecting the toxic exposure to his or her disability, VA disregards the evidence and orders a VA examination to justify denying the claim. Second, although veterans should have the benefit of the doubt on any close issue concerning benefits, VA often merely pays lip service to this standard and denies the claim. In the March 2025 case Bufkin v. McDonough, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veterans Court) reviews the Board of Veterans’ Appeals’ application of the benefit of the doubt rule as part of its factual findings under the clearly erroneous standard, rather than de novo. Thus, whether the evidence is in “approximate balance” concerning a veteran’s claim is a factual finding reviewed under the deferential clear error standard. This prevents the Veterans Court from ensuring VA properly applies the benefit of the doubt. Finally, the VA benefits system is like a hamster wheel because claims are often remanded for factual development at every stage, forcing claims to revolve up and down through the system. This Article recommends Congress amend the PACT Act to aid veterans who do not qualify for the PACT Act presumptions to: (1) ensure VA fulfills its duty to refrain from developing to deny, (2) grant the Veterans Court de novo review of VA benefit of the doubt determinations, and (3) mitigate the hamster wheel.

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