Citation Nr: 18147170
Decision Date: 11/02/18	Archive Date: 11/02/18

DOCKET NO. 16-13 270
DATE:	November 2, 2018
ORDER
The claim for entitlement to service connection for a heart disorder is dismissed.
The claim for entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, is dismissed.
The claim for entitlement to service connection for a back disorder is dismissed.
The claim for entitlement to service connection for a neck disorder is dismissed.
The claim for entitlement to service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right hand is dismissed.
The claim for entitlement to service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the left hand is dismissed.
The claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for anxiety disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) is dismissed.
The claim for entitlement to an earlier effective date for anxiety disorder NOS is dismissed.
The claim for entitlement to a total disability rating for compensation based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
During the pendency of the appeal but after the appeal was certified and transferred to the custody of the Board, VA received confirmation that the Appellant died in March 2014.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Due to the death of the Appellant, 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
The Veteran, unfortunately, died in June 2017.
Prior to discussing the appeal at hand, the Board would be remiss if it did not recognize the Veteran’s outstanding service.  The Veteran, who provided honorable active service in the United States Navy from February 1958 to October 1979, was clearly a credit to the Navy and to his family, and his service to his country is greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately, the Appellant, the Veteran’s widow, died in December 2017, during the pendency of the appeal, as confirmed through correspondence from the Appellant’s attorney.  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 Appellant’s death 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). 

 
 
 
 Yvette R. White
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. Lech, Counsel