Terrance MacKey, a U.S. Air Force veteran who served from 1986 to 1990, sought special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) based on his total disability rating for individual unemployability. The Department of Veterans Affairs had granted MacKey a TDIU rating based on multiple service-connected disabilities including 60% for bowel incontinence, 40% for intervertebral disc syndrome, and 40% for bladder incontinence, which combined for a 90% rating that affected his ability to work.
Circuit Judge Kimberly Prost wrote for the three-judge panel that the statute's plain language—using the article 'a' and singular 'disability'—demonstrates Congress intended to reference one disability rather than several. 'The plain language of § 1114(s) establishes that Congress did not intend for multiple disabilities with ratings combining to a disability rated as total to qualify as 'a service-connected disability rated as total,'' Prost explained. The court distinguished between the statute's use of singular 'disability' and plural 'disabilities' within the same subsection.
MacKey had filed two separate claims for SMC in 2018, both of which the regional office denied. The Board of Veterans' Appeals affirmed those denials, determining MacKey lacked one totally disabling service-connected disability as required by the statute. The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims upheld the Board's decision in November 2023.
The Federal Circuit's ruling resolves an issue the court had previously left open in Guerra v. Shinseki regarding when veterans with TDIU ratings qualify for SMC benefits. The decision clarifies that veterans must have a single disability rated as totally disabling, not multiple disabilities that combine to create a total rating, to receive the enhanced compensation.