Citation Nr: 20004075 Decision Date: 01/16/20 Archive Date: 01/16/20 DOCKET NO. 09-13 429 DATE: January 16, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), to include as due to herbicide exposure and/or secondary to posttraumatic stress disorder is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for a prostate disability, to include as due to herbicide exposure is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as due to herbicide exposure and/or secondary to PTSD is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In November 2019 the Board was notified that the appellant died in November 2019. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Due to the death of the appellant, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal for service connection for OSA at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302. 2. Due to the death of the appellant, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal for service connection for a prostate disability at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302. 3. Due to the death of the appellant, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal for service connection for PTSD at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served honorably on active duty from June 1967 to June 1969, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at an August 2015 videoconference hearing. The Board remanded the issues for further development in November 2015, December 2016, and October 2017. 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). The appeals, on the merits, have become moot by virtue of the death of the appellant and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. 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. In November 2019, the Veteran’s spouse applied for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) which was granted in a December 2019 rating decision. The Veteran’s spouse did not apply for accrued benefits or survivor’s pension benefits. 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. 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; 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). A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board B. N. Quarles, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.