Citation Nr: 18156066
Decision Date: 12/06/18	Archive Date: 12/06/18

DOCKET NO. 14-44 138A
DATE:	December 6, 2018
ORDER
Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus type II is dismissed.
Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss disability is dismissed.
Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
Before the Board promulgated a decision in this appeal, the Veteran died in November 2018.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Because of 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 (2018); but see Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-389, § 212, 122 Stat. 4145, 4151 (2008); 38 U.S.C. § 5121A (2012).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran had active naval service from June 1967 to June 1971. 
This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke, Virginia. 
 Claim to Reopen and Service Connection Claims 

Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal.  As a matter of law, claims do not survive a claimant’s death.  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).  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 claims to completion. 
 
Kristin Haddock
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Mariah N. Sim, Associate Counsel