Citation Nr: 18144806
Decision Date: 10/25/18	Archive Date: 10/25/18

DOCKET NO. 16-24 056
DATE:	October 25, 2018
ORDER
The appeal, as to entitlement to service connection for right leg cramping/spasms, entitlement to service connection for left leg cramping/spasms, entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder to include depressive disorder, and entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran died in August 2018.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2018).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from June 1965 to April 1966.
Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. Veterans’ claims do not survive their deaths. See Zevalkink v. Brown, 102 F.3d 1236, 1243-44 (Fed. Cir. 1996); 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. The Board intimates no opinion as to the merits of this appeal or to any derivative claim brought by a survivor of the Veteran. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106.
The 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 above claims. Such request must be filed no 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... under section 5121(a)[.]” 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 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 a Veteran should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010 (b).
 
K. MILLIKAN
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	P. Nguyen, Associate Counsel