Walker v. Shinseki
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
708 F.3d 1331 (2013)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Julius Walker (plaintiff) was a World War II veteran who had served as a pilot and flight instructor in the United States Army Air Force from 1943 to 1945. In 2007, Walker made a disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant) for bilateral hearing loss. Walker presented lay testimony from his family that he had normal hearing before entering the service, that he had begun suffering hearing loss during service, and that his hearing had continued to worsen throughout his life. A VA examiner found that Walker’s hearing loss was more likely to have been caused by his age and his exposure to recreational noise while hunting than from his service. The VA therefore found no service connection for his condition and denied his claim. The VA’s denial was upheld first by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board) and then by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the veterans court). Walker then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On this appeal, Walker claimed that he should be entitled to a presumption of a service connection under VA regulations related to chronic conditions.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Clevenger, J.)
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