New SMC Ruling Could Increase Your VA Benefits: Barry v. McDonough

New SMC Ruling Could Increase Your VA Benefits: Barry v. McDonough

From Veterans Legal Lowdown: VA Benefits Explained by CCK

May 26, 2026 · 4 min

About this episode

This episode discusses a recent federal court ruling that impacts how VA applies Special Monthly Compensation for veterans with multiple disabilities.

A major federal court decision just changed how VA must apply Special Monthly Compensation. In this episode, CCK Law partner Brad Hennings discusses Barry v. McDonough, in which the Federal Circuit made clear that VA cannot automatically limit veterans to a single intermediate SMC rate increase. For veterans with multiple severe service-connected disabilities, this could mean higher monthly compensation or even retroactive benefits. To whom does this apply? When should you take a closer look at your rating? And what types of SMC fact patterns are most affected? Tune in find out! For more information, visit our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ cck-law.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/CCKYTL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/CCKFBL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/CCKINL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/CCKTL

People in this episode

Host: CCK

Guest: Brad Hennings

Topics covered

  • VA Benefits
  • Special Monthly Compensation
  • Veterans Law
  • Court Rulings
  • Service-Connected Disabilities

Keywords

  • VA Benefits
  • Special Monthly Compensation
  • Barry v. McDonough
  • Federal Circuit
  • service-connected disabilities
  • veterans compensation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: VA, Federal Circuit

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