Citation Nr: 0811761 Decision Date: 04/09/08 Archive Date: 04/23/08 DOCKET NO. 05-03 382A ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma THE ISSUE Entitlement to payment or reimbursement for medical services provided at Valley View Regional Hospital on February 27, 2003. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Thomas D. Jones, Counsel FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The appellant is a veteran who served on active duty from February 1953 to February 1955, and from October 1961 to March 1965. 2. On December 10, 2007, the Board issued a remand in the appellant's case. 3. Subsequently, on January 3, 2008, the Board was notified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), in Muskogee, Oklahoma, that the appellant died in October 2007. CONCLUSION OF LAW Due to the death of the appellant, 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 On December 10, 2007, the Board issued a remand in this appeal, addressing the issue of entitlement to reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses. Subsequent to the issuance of the December 10, 2007 remand, the Board received notification from the Muskogee RO that the appellant had died on October [redacted], 2007, prior to the Board's remand order. The Board was not aware of the appellant's death prior to promulgating the December 10, 2007 remand. As a matter of law, veterans' claims on appeal to the Board 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). In these circumstances, the appropriate remedy is to withdraw the Board remand and dismiss the appeal. Landicho, 7 Vet. App. at 54. Such action ensures that the Board decision or remand and underlying RO decision will have no preclusive effect in the adjudication of any accrued-benefits claims derived from the veteran's entitlements. Id. Accordingly, the December 10, 2007 Board remand addressing the issue of entitlement to reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses is withdrawn. Furthermore, the appeal has become moot 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 TO DISMISS The December 10, 2007 Board remand is withdrawn, and the appeal is DISMISSED. ____________________________________________ STEVEN L. KELLER Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Department of Veterans Affairs