Citation Nr: 1806137	
Decision Date: 01/31/18    Archive Date: 02/07/18

DOCKET NO.  11-11 788A	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Waco, Texas


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for hypertension. 

2.  Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss. 

3.  Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prior to June 8, 2012, a disability rating in excess of 70 percent from June 8, 2012, to May 31, 2014, and a disability rating in excess of 50 percent from June 1, 2014.

4.  Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to the service-connected disabilities.


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Seth Berman, Attorney


WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL

The Veteran and his wife


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

R. R. Watkins, Associate Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from March 1969 to October 1972.

These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from August 2010 and January 2011 rating decisions from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas. 

In August 2015, the Veteran testified at a Travel Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of the hearing is of record.

In October 2015, the Board remanded the appeal to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for additional evidentiary development.


FINDING OF FACT

The Board was notified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office, Waco, Texas, that the Veteran died in November 2017.






CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time.  38 U.S.C. § 7104(a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2017). 


REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

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. § 7104(a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2017).

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 (2017).  

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 Veteran's death.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2017).  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. § 5121A (2012); see 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a) (2017).  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).  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2017). 




ORDER

The appeal is dismissed.



		
ROBERT C. SCHARNBERGER
	Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Department of Veterans Affairs