Citation Nr: 18144533
Decision Date: 10/24/18	Archive Date: 10/24/18

DOCKET NO. 14-30 730
DATE:	October 24, 2018
ORDER
The appeal seeking entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for a right knee disability is dismissed.
The appeal seeking entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is dismissed.
The appeal seeking entitlement to special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance or housebound is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
In February 2012 the RO was notified that Veteran died in December 2011.
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) (201); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
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 appellant 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. 
In reaching this determination, the Board intimates no opinion as to the merits of the appeals or to any derivative claim brought by a survivor of the Veteran. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106. It appears that the Veteran’s widow has applied to be substituted for the Veteran. However, in a notation on the April 2012 rating decision, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) instructed that the appellant be informed that her request to be continued for the Veteran’s appeal pending at his death had been received and those claims were being returned to the home regional office for review.  A review of the claims file does not show that a decision has been reached as to whether the appellant is the substitute. VA regulations, 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (a), specifically requires the Board to dismiss pending appeals in which the appellant had died, pending a ruling on any substitution claim. 
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The Board may not adjudicate claims for substitution in the first instance. As such, the Board has forwarded this appeal for a ruling on the substitution claim.
 
M.E. Larkin
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Eric Struening, Associate Counsel