Citation Nr: 18152518
Decision Date: 11/23/18	Archive Date: 11/23/18

DOCKET NO. 17-39 292
DATE:	November 23, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
In July 2018, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) was notified that the Veteran died earlier 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 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.


REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from May 1966 to February 1970. His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an August 2015 rating decision.
Entitlement to a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities
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). 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. 

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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 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 due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title....” 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; see 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 the claimant should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010 (b). In this regard, the Board notes that a request for substitution was submitted to the AOJ in September 2018 (see September 2018 “Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant” form (VA Form 21P-0847)). This request for substitution will be the subject of a future decision by the AOJ.
 
Jonathan Hager
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	B. Elwood, Counsel