Citation Nr: 0810844 Decision Date: 04/02/08 Archive Date: 04/14/08 DOCKET NO. 05-34 656 ) DATE ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Nashville, Tennessee THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability, to include degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. 2. Entitlement to a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU). ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Jason Davitian, Counsel INTRODUCTION This case is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) on appeal from a June 2004 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Nashville, Tennessee (RO), which denied the benefits sought on appeal. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The veteran in this case served on active duty from January 1978 to July 1998. 2. On March 12, 2008, the Board was notified that the appellant died in February 2008. CONCLUSION OF LAW Due to the veteran's death, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2007). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Unfortunately, the veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths. Zevalkink v. Brown, 102 F.3d 1236, 1243-44 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Smith v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 330, 333-34 (1997); Landicho v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 42, 47 (1994). This appeal on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the veteran and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2007). In reaching this determination, the Board intimates no opinion as to the merits of this appeal or to any derivative claim brought by a survivor of the veteran. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106 (2007). ORDER The appeal is dismissed. Tresa M. Schlecht Acting Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Department of Veterans Affairs