Va Tinnitus Compensation Update:

[TinCanMan]

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S (VFW) filed an Amicus, or Friend of the Court brief 20 DEC in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of veteran Ellis C. Smith. He is seeking to overturn a lower court decision that allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to rate tinnitus as a single disability, regardless of whether it affects one or both ears. VFW Commander-in-Chief Gary Kurpius, a Vietnam veteran from Anchorage AK said, “The VFW intervened in this court case to protect the rights of all veterans who were denied similar claims.” Smith, an Army veteran, suffers from service-connected tinnitus in both ears. The VA approved his initial claim but as a single disability. Currently, a single tinnitus disability rating is 10%, which is compensated at $112 per month. A dual tinnitus disability rating is 20%, or $218 per month. Smith appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and won his case on 5 APR 05, on the grounds that the VA’s disability ratingschedule did not expressly preclude a separate disability rating for tinnitus in each ear.
The VA appealed this ruling to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and won its case on 19 JUN 06. The Federal Court agreed that the VA’s regulations were ambiguous, but ruled that the VA was entitled to interpret its own regulations. Prior to that decision, the VA had withheld more than 4,000 VFW-assisted tinnitus claims. Once Smith’s favorable decision was overturned, the VA activated those cases and summarily denied them. VFW service officers are now helping those affected veterans preserve their appeals, either within the VA or at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. To date, more than 800 have already appealed their denials to the veterans court. Regardless of how the high court rules, the VA has changed the rating schedule so that all new tinnitus claims will be adjudicated as a single — not dual — disability. The VFW intends to take up this issue with the VA when the new 110th Congress convenes. [Source: VFW News Release 21 DEC 06 ++]