Citation Nr: 1806423	
Decision Date: 02/01/18    Archive Date: 02/14/18

DOCKET NO.  14-43 875	)	DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in North Little Rock, Arkansas


THE ISSUES

1. Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss.

2. Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

M. Carsten, Counsel



INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1949 to May 1952.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2011 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in North Little Rock, Arkansas, which in pertinent part determined that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The October 2014 statement of the case also addressed the issue of entitlement to a compensable rating for malaria. The Veteran, however, did not perfect this issue for appeal. See November 2014 VA Form 9. 

This is a paperless appeal and the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) and Virtual VA folders have been reviewed. 


FINDING OF FACT

Information in the claims folder indicates that the Veteran has died. 


CONCLUSION 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) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2017). 


REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

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) (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 (2017).  

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 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2017). 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 (2012); see 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a) (2017). 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 North Little Rock, Arkansas VA Regional Office. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2017). 


ORDER

The appeal is dismissed.



		
DEREK R. BROWN
	Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Department of Veterans Affairs