Ray v. Wilkie
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
31 Vet. App. 58 (2019)

- Written by Sarah Hoffman, JD
Facts
Eddie D. Ray (plaintiff) filed a claim for service-connected total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant) found that Ray was able to be employed in a sedentary occupation but that Ray’s education and occupational background was inconsistent with the ability to obtain a sedentary job. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board) referred Ray’s claim to the director of compensation service for extraschedular consideration under § 4.16(b). The director denied Ray a TDIU rating. The board subsequently denied Ray an extraschedular TDIU rating, stating that Ray was not “unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation,” consistent with Ray’s education and training, because of a disability. The board did not define what “unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation” meant. Ray appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Allen, J.)
Concurrence (Toth, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 964,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,500 briefs, keyed to 1,006 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.
- AI-generated podcast version of every brief — listen on the go, between classes, or whenever reading isn’t an option. New
Understand your casebook readings in seconds
Use our case briefs to comprehend your casebook readings faster, supplement your notes and outlines, and outshine your peers in class.
Get instant access to over 47,500+ expert-written case briefs in a searchable database keyed to 1,006 law school casebooks.

