Citation Nr: 1510737	
Decision Date: 03/13/15    Archive Date: 03/24/15

DOCKET NO.  10-44 818	)	DATE
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Louisville, Kentucky


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure.

2.  Entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure.

3.  Entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure.

4.  Entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure.

5.  Entitlement to service connection for a skin disability, to include as due to herbicide exposure.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Disabled American Veterans


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

W. H. Donnelly, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Army from March 1972 to March 1973, to include a tour of duty in Vietnam.

These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2010 decision by the Louisville, Kentucky, Regional Office (RO) of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  They were previously before the Board in April 2014, when the Board remanded them to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for further development.  

The Veteran's file has been scanned, and converted from a hybrid paper and electronic file to a purely electronic file.  The Board has reviewed the records and documents maintained in Virtual VA and the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) to ensure consideration of the totality of the evidence.  


FINDING OF FACT

On February 18, 2015, the Board was notified by the Louisville RO, via a Social Security Administration certification, that the appellant died in January 2010.



CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the appellant, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time.  38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2014); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2014); but see 38 U.S.C.A. § 5121A (West 2014); 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. pts. 3, 14, and 20). 


REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING 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 2014); 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,984 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 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 of the Veteran.  79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,984 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106).  

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 38 U.S.C.A. § 5121A (West 2014); 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,982 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b)).  A person eligible for substitution includes "a living person who would be eligible to receive accrued benefits due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title ...."  38 U.S.C.A. § 5121A (West 2014); see 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,982 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a)).  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 office from which the claim originated (listed on the first page of this decision).  79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,982 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b)). 


ORDER

The appeal for entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is dismissed.

The appeal for entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is dismissed.

The appeal for entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is dismissed.

The appeal for entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is dismissed.

The appeal for entitlement to service connection for a skin disability, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is dismissed.




		
BETHANY L. BUCK
	Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Department of Veterans Affairs