Citation Nr: 18157936
Decision Date: 12/13/18	Archive Date: 12/13/18

DOCKET NO. 14-28 553
DATE:	December 13, 2018
ORDER
Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for asbestosis is dismissed.
Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for mesothelioma is dismissed.
The claim of entitlement to service connection for the heart disability of supraventricular arrhythmia, to include as a result of exposure to herbicides, is dismissed.
The claim of entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is dismissed.
The claim of entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is dismissed.
The claim of entitlement to an effective date prior to December 5, 2016, for service connection for adenocarcinoma of the lung, is dismissed.
The claim of entitlement to an effective date prior to March 21, 2017, for service connection for bone cancer, right sacrum, is dismissed.
The claim of entitlement to an effective date prior to March 21, 2017, for entitlement to special monthly compensation based on housebound.
FINDINGS OF FACT
VA received notice that the appellant died in September 2018. 
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Due to the death of the appellant, 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 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
The Veteran served on active duty from December 1955 to March 1976. The Veteran died in September 2018.
Unfortunately, the appellant 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 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. Such request must be filed not later than one year after the date of the appellant’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).
 
M.E. LARKIN
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Robert J. Burriesci, Counsel