Marcelino: Obesity is not a "disease" for VA compensation purposes
/Marcelino v. Shulkin, 29 Vet.App. 155 (Jan. 23, 2018)
HELD: Because the Court is statutorily precluded from reviewing VA’s rating schedule, the Court lacks jurisdiction to consider whether obesity should be considered a disability under the rating schedule.
SUMMARY: Mr. Marcelino was denied service connection for obesity because the Board stated that this condition was not a disability for purposes of service connection and VA compensation.
The Court first noted that it does not have jurisdiction to review the content of VA’s rating schedule, nor can it review “what should be considered a disability.” There are three exceptions to this general principle – cases involving (1) a constitutional challenge, (2) interpretation of a regulation that relates to the rating schedule, and (3) a procedural challenge to VA’s adoption of schedule regulations. Because “obesity” is not listed in the rating schedule, the Court determined that the question of whether VA should include obesity in the schedule did not fall under one of the exceptions and “would require the Court to undertake the very review of the rating schedule that has been barred from its jurisdiction.”
ADVOCACY NOTE: VA’s Office of the General Counsel issued a Precedent opinion in January 2017 that recognized that while obesity is not a disability for purposes of secondary SC under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310, it can be an “intermediate step” between a service-connected disability and a current disability that may be service connected on a secondary basis. VAOGCPREC 1-2017.
