Citation Nr: 18146594
Decision Date: 10/31/18	Archive Date: 10/31/18

DOCKET NO. 14-27 621
DATE:	October 31, 2018
ORDER
The appeal is dismissed.  
 
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran died in September 2012.  
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; 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.  
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran had active service from June 1956 to June 1962.  
This case comes from a June 2013 rating decision.  
The Board notes that the June 2013 rating decision reflects service connection was granted for hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux disease, for accrued benefits purposes.  This represents a full grant of the benefit sought with respect to that issue.  
In September 2016, the Board remanded the case to complete the record.  
DISMISSED
1. Service connection for a right foot disability.  
2. Service connection for a left foot disability.  
3. Service connection for a right knee disability.  
4. Service connection for a left knee disability.  
5. Service connection for a lumbar disability secondary to bilateral foot and knee disabilities.  
6. Service connection for sciatica secondary to a lumbar disability.  
7. Service connection for removal of three fourths of the stomach (surgery for stomach ulcers).  
8. Service connection for an abdominal scar secondary to stomach removal.  
9. Service connection for irritable bowel syndrome.  
10. Service connection for celiac disease.  
11. Service connection for lung scarring due to asbestos exposure.  
12. Service connection for tinnitus.  
13. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss.  
14. Service connection for prostate disability.  
15. Service connection for sleep apnea.  
16. Service connection for coronary artery disease.  
17. Service connection for PTSD.  
18. Service connection for hypertension secondary to PTSD and coronary artery disease.  
19. Service connection for insomnia secondary to PTSD.  
20. Service connection for bruxism secondary to PTSD.  
21. Service connection for depression secondary to claimed conditions.  
The record reflects that the documents requested in the September 2016 Board remand have been associated with the claims file, and on further consideration, the appeal should be dismissed due to the Veteran’s death (as shown on the September 2012 Death Certificate that previously could not be reviewed).  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.  
(Continued on the next page)
 
The Board acknowledges that the Veteran’s widow currently has a substitution request pending.  The RO has not yet issued a substitution determination and the Board does not have jurisdiction to grant such a request in the first instance.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010.  Thus, the Board will take appropriate action with respect to a substitution determination by the RO, and if granted, a future decision will be issued when in order.  A future Board decision will also include the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
 
 RYAN T. KESSEL
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	M. Taylor