Citation Nr: 1331679	
Decision Date: 10/02/13    Archive Date: 10/07/13

DOCKET NO.  10-07 804	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and bipolar disorder.

2.  Entitlement to service connection for headaches.  

3.  Entitlement to service connection for memory problems.  

4.  Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral arm disorder.

5.  Entitlement to service connection for a left leg disorder.

6.  Entitlement to service connection for sarcoidosis of the lungs.

7.  Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected anxiety disorder.  

8.  Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).  

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Disabled American Veterans


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

C. Hancock, Counsel


FINDINGS OF FACT

1.  The Veteran served on active duty from November 1978 to March 1979.  

2.  The Veteran perfected appeals to rating decisions issued in July 2009 and January 2010 by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which addressed the issues listed above.  

3.  The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) is in receipt of information showing that the appellant died in April 2013.


CONCLUSION OF LAW

Because of the death of the appellant Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of these claims.  38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2002 & Supp. 2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2013); but see Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-389, § 212, 122 Stat. 4145, 4151 (2008).


REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1978 to March 1979.  

The Board was notified by Disabled American Veterans, before a decision was issued, that the Veteran died in April 2013.  

It is established that the Veteran died during the pendency of this appeal.  As a matter of law, veterans' 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).  These appeals on the merits have 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); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

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 or survivors of the Veteran.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1106 (2013).

The Board's dismissal of this appeal does not affect the right of an eligible person to file a request to be substituted as the appellant for purposes of processing the claim to completion.  Such request must be filed not later than one year after the date of the appellant's death.  See Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-389, § 212, 122 Stat. 4145, 4151 (2008) (creating new 38 U.S.C. § 5121A, substitution in case of death of a claimant who dies on or after October 10, 2008).  As provided for in this new provision, a person eligible for substitution will include "a living person who would be eligible to receive accrued benefits due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title. . . "  The Secretary will be issuing regulations governing the rules and procedures for substitution upon death.  Until such regulations are issued, an eligible party seeking substitution in an appeal that has been dismissed by the Board due to the death of the claimant should file a request for substitution with the VA Regional Office from which the claim originated (i.e., the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, VA Regional Office).

ORDER

The present appeal is dismissed.



____________________________________________
M. E. LARKIN
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals



Department of Veterans Affairs