Citation Nr: 18149680
Decision Date: 11/13/18	Archive Date: 11/13/18

DOCKET NO. 11-31 750A
DATE:	November 13, 2018
ORDER
The claim of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (LLE) is dismissed.   
The claim of entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease(DDD)/degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine prior to November 19, 2008, and in excess of 30 percent from November 19, 2008, on an extra-schedular basis is dismissed.    
The claim of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for coronary artery disease (CAD) from October 1, 2014, is dismissed.  
The claim of entitlement to a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is dismissed.  
FINDING OF FACT
On October 29, 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was notified that the Veteran had died 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 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2018).   
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from November 1970 to March 1972 and from January 1979 to November 1989.  He died in October 2018.    
This matter is before the Board of Veterans Affairs (Board) on appeal from rating decisions of a VA regional office.
In March 2016, the Veteran and his spouse testified before undersigned at Travel Board Hearing.  A transcript of hearing is of record.
DISMISSAL
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) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2018).
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 (2018). 
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 appellant’s death.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2018).  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 (2012); see 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a) (2018).  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) (2018).

 
BARBARA B. COPELAND
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	T. Hal Smith