Citation Nr: 18157180
Decision Date: 12/12/18	Archive Date: 12/11/18

DOCKET NO. 11-09 966
DATE:	December 12, 2018

ORDER
The issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT
In November 2018, VA was notified that the Veteran passed away.

CONCLUSION OF LAW
Due to the death of Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the issue on 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 in the United States Army from September 1996 to September 1999.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2009 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke, Virginia.
Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD
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). The issue on appeal has become moot by virtue of the death of the appellant 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. 
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. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010.
 
S. C. KREMBS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	B. Temple, Associate Counsel