Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
B

Buchanan v. Nicholson

451 F.3d 1331 (2006)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Buchanan v. Nicholson

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
451 F.3d 1331 (2006)

CS

Facts

Donald Buchanan (plaintiff) served on active duty in the United States Army from 1973 to 1975. He first filed a claim for a service-connected psychiatric disorder in 1986. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant) denied his initial claim, and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board) affirmed that denial. Buchanan again filed for benefits in 1992 and presented lay evidence from various individuals, including his former sergeant, attesting to the fact that his psychiatric symptoms began during his service or shortly thereafter. Buchanan’s claim moved procedurally between the board and the VA for a number of years, during which Buchanan received three VA medical examinations. These examinations found that Buchanan suffered from schizophrenia or psychosis and that although his symptoms may have begun during service, it was impossible to confirm such a finding because there was no contemporaneous medical evidence of a psychiatric condition. When the matter finally came back before the board in 2002, the board denied Buchanan’s claim, holding that the lay evidence was not credible because it was not supported by contemporaneous medical evidence. Buchanan appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which affirmed the board’s decision. Buchanan again appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Prost, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Military Law

Key Terms