United States v. Sligh
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1929-03-04 · cited 40×
This case involved a World War veteran's claim for total and permanent disability benefits under a government life insurance policy issued pursuant to the World War Veterans' Act. Following reversal by the Supreme Court on statute of limitations grounds in favor of applying a 1928 federal statute to pending suits, the Ninth Circuit addressed the remaining issues of factual findings and the district court's disability determination. The court affirmed the judgment awarding benefits to the plaintiff, holding that competent medical testimony established active pulmonary tuberculosis that made continuous substantially gainful employment impossible and injurious to health. It reasoned that total and permanent disability does not require proof of absolute incapacity to perform any work, that the policy terms receive liberal construction in favor of the insured, and that the plaintiff's limited work history did not contradict the medical evidence of disability since his discharge from service.