Citation Nr: 18153485
Decision Date: 11/28/18	Archive Date: 11/27/18

DOCKET NO. 12-34 107
DATE:	November 28, 2018

ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
In October 2017, prior to the promulgation of a decision, the Board received notice that the Veteran had died.
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) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2017).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from July 1968 to December 1969. 
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2009 rating decision.
The Board notes that the Veteran’s claim for service connection PTSD was previously considered and denied by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in a January 2007 rating decision.  However, in June 2016, the AOJ received additional relevant service treatment and service personnel records.  Therefore, the July 2010 rating decision did not become final.  See 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c) (new and material evidence-service department records).
 
Law and Analysis
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 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 (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. 
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 (listed on the first page of this decision).  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010 (b).
 
J.W. ZISSIMOS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	M. Wulff, Associate Counsel