Smith v. Nicholson

Ellis Smith (plaintiff) served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1969. In 1995, Smith was found to have tinnitus, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant) held that this condition was connected to Smith’s military service. The regional office of the VA, however, held that this was a noncompensable disability. Smith appealed this decision to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board). The board determined that Smith’s tinnitus was entitled to compensation and awarded him a 10 percent disability rating. Smith appealed this decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the veterans court), alleging that VA regulations required that he should be awarded two 10 percent ratings, one for each ear affected by the tinnitus. The VA claimed that the regulations only allowed for a single 10 percent rating for tinnitus, regardless of whether it affected one or both ears. The veterans court reversed the board’s decision, holding that the VA’s interpretation of the relevant regulations contradicted the regulations’ plain meaning and that the 10 percent disability rating must be granted for each affected ear. The veterans court remanded the case for a determination of whether Smith was in fact affected by bilateral tinnitus. The VA appealed the veterans court decision, alleging that the veterans court had erred in not deferring to the VA’s own interpretation of its regulations.