Citation Nr: 0813993 Decision Date: 04/29/08 Archive Date: 05/08/08 DOCKET NO. 05-20 017 ) DATE ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Nashville, Tennessee THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 2. Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C claimed as secondary to intravenous (IV) drug use due to PTSD. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant and Appellant's wife ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. R. Weaver INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from April 1972 to April 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Nashville, Tennessee, that denied service connection for hepatitis C in January 2004 and PTSD in January 2005. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The veteran in this case served on active duty from April 1972 to April 1975. 2. On February 22, 2008 the Board was notified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office, Nashville, Tennessee, that the appellant died in January 2008. 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 CONCLUSION Unfortunately, the appellant 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 appellant 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. M. C. GRAHAM Acting Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Department of Veterans Affairs