Citation Nr: 18143452
Decision Date: 10/19/18	Archive Date: 10/19/18

DOCKET NO. 14-32 127
DATE:	October 19, 2018
ORDER
The application to reopen the claim of service connection for peptic ulcer disease is dismissed.
The application to reopen the claim of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
In December 2016, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) was notified that the Veteran died earlier that month.
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); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from December 1970 to December 1974. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an August 2012 rating decision.
As for characterization of the issues on appeal, claims of service connection for peptic ulcer disease and PTSD were initially denied by way of a final December 1976 Board decision and a final August 2005 rating decision, respectively. Hence, the Board has recharacterized the issues on appeal as applications to reopen the claims of service connection for peptic ulcer disease and PTSD. See Jackson v. Principi, 265 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2001); Hickson v. West, 11 Vet. App. 374, 377 (1998). 
Dismissal of Appeal
The applications to reopen the claims of service connection for peptic ulcer disease and PTSD
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); 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. 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 Veteran’s death. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 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. § 5121A; see 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. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010 (b).

 
L. B. CRYAN
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	B. Elwood, Counsel