38 U.S.C. § 1159 — Protection of service connection

Page 192 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 1159 § 1159. Protection of service connection Service connection for any disability or death granted under this title which has been in force for ten or more years shall not be severed on or after January 1, 1962, except upon a showing that the original grant of service connection was based on fraud or it is clearly shown from military records that the person concerned did not have the requisite service or character of discharge. The mentioned period shall be com- puted from the date determined by the Sec- retary as the date on which the status com- menced for rating purposes. (Added Pub. L. 86–501, § 1, June 10, 1960, 74 Stat. 195, § 359; amended Pub. L. 87–825, § 6, Oct. 15, 1962, 76 Stat. 950; renumbered § 1159 and amended Pub. L. 102–83, §§ 4(b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404–406.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 359 of this title as this section. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted ‘‘Sec- retary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’. 1962—Pub. L. 87–825 provided for computation of the period from the date the administrator determines as the date the status commenced for rating purposes. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1962 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 87–825 effective first day of second calendar month which begins after Oct. 15, 1962, see section 7 of Pub. L. 87–825, set out as a note under section 110 of this title. § 1160. Special consideration for certain cases of loss of paired organs or extremities (a) Where a veteran has suffered— (1) impairment of vision in one eye as a re- sult of service-connected disability and im- pairment of vision in the other eye as a result of non-service-connected disability not the re- sult of the veteran’s own willful misconduct and— (A) the impairment of vision in each eye is rated at a visual acuity of 20/200 or less; or (B) the peripheral field of vision for each eye is 20 degrees or less; (2) the loss or loss of use of one kidney as a result of service-connected disability and in- volvement of the other kidney as a result of non-service-connected disability not the result of the veteran’s own willful misconduct; (3) deafness compensable to a degree of 10 percent or more in one ear as a result of serv- ice-connected disability and deafness in the other ear as the result of non-service-con- nected disability not the result of the vet- eran’s own willful misconduct; (4) the loss or loss of use of one hand or one foot as a result of service-connected disability and the loss or loss of use of the other hand or foot as a result of non-service-connected dis- ability not the result of the veteran’s own willful misconduct; or (5) permanent service-connected disability of one lung, rated 50 percent or more disabling, in combination with a non-service-connected disability of the other lung that is not the re- sult of the veteran’s own willful misconduct, the Secretary shall assign and pay to the vet- eran the applicable rate of compensation under this chapter as if the combination of disabilities were the result of service-connected disability. (b) If a veteran described in subsection (a) of this section receives any money or property of value pursuant to an award in a judicial pro- ceeding based upon, or a settlement or com- promise of, any cause of action for damages for the non-service-connected disability described in such subsection, the increase in the rate of compensation otherwise payable under this sec- tion shall not be paid for any month following a month in which any such money or property is received until such time as the total of the amount of such increase that would otherwise have been payable equals the total of the amount of any such money received and the fair market value of any such property received. (Added Pub. L. 87–610, § 1, Aug. 28, 1962, 76 Stat. 406, § 360; amended Pub. L. 89–311, § 3(a), (b), Oct. 31, 1965, 79 Stat. 1155; Pub. L. 94–433, title IV, § 404(22), Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1379; Pub. L. 98–160, title VII, § 702(3), Nov. 21, 1983, 97 Stat. 1009; Pub. L. 99–576, title I, § 109(a)(1), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3253; renumbered § 1160 and amend- ed Pub. L. 102–83, §§ 4(b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404–406; Pub. L. 107–330, title I, § 103, Dec. 6, 2002, 116 Stat. 2821; Pub. L. 110–157, title I, § 102, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1831.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2007—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 110–157 substituted ‘‘im- pairment of vision’’ for ‘‘blindness’’ in two places and ‘‘misconduct and—’’ for ‘‘misconduct;’’ and added sub- pars. (A) and (B). 2002—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 107–330 substituted ‘‘deaf- ness compensable to a degree of 10 percent or more in one ear’’ for ‘‘total deafness in one ear’’ and ‘‘deafness in the other ear’’ for ‘‘total deafness in the other ear’’. 1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 360 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted ‘‘Secretary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’ in concluding provi- sions. 1986—Pub. L. 99–576 amended section generally, sub- stituting ‘‘loss of paired organs or extremities’’ for ‘‘blindness or bilateral kidney involvement or bilateral deafness’’ in section catchline. Prior to amendment, text of section read as follows: ‘‘Where any veteran (1) has suffered blindness in one eye as a result of service- connected disability and has suffered blindness in the other eye as a result of non-service-connected dis- ability not the result of such veteran’s own willful mis- conduct, or (2) has suffered the loss or loss of use of one kidney as a result of service-connected disability, and has suffered severe involvement of the other kidney such as to cause total disability, as a result of non- service-connected disability not the result of such vet- eran’s own willful misconduct, or (3) has suffered total deafness in one ear as a result of service-connected dis- ability and has suffered total deafness in the other ear as the result of non-service-connected disability not the result of such veteran’s own willful misconduct, the Administrator shall assign and pay to the veteran con- cerned the applicable rate of compensation under this chapter as if such veteran’s blindness in both eyes or such bilateral kidney involvement were the result of service-connected disability.’’