United States Federal Circuit

In this case, Wingard's, a veteran, died from causes unrelated to his military service and his daughter filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs for a burial-plot or internment allowance under 38 U.S.C. section 2303 and for burial benefits under section 2302(a)(1). The Board of Veterans Appeals denied claimant's claim for burial benefits, and the Veterans Court determined that the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs' interpretation of sections 1110 and 1155, that they allow the Department to find some disabilities non-compensable and assign a 0% disability rating, was reasonable. On that basis, the Veterans Court concluded that claimant's veteran father was not entitled to receive compensation and thus affirmed the denial of the burial benefits claim. The judgment of the Veterans Court is vacated and the case is remanded, where: 1) section 7252(b) bars the Veteran Court from reviewing whether the Department of Veterans Affairs complied with statutory constrains on the schedule of disability ratings, and also bars this court from itself conducting the review on appeal from a Veterans Court decision; and 2) any such review must be conducted through a direct review of rule making determinations under section 502.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/10/2015
• Published 03/10/2015

Judges

• Taranto

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel