Citation Nr: 20005017
Decision Date: 01/23/20	Archive Date: 01/22/20

DOCKET NO. 18-54 313
DATE: January 23, 2020

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for acid reflux is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral foot arthritis is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hammertoes is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hand arthritis is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for cervical spine disability is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for right knee disability is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for left knee disability is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for myasthenia gravis is dismissed. 

Entitlement to service connection for spinal stenosis is dismissed. 

Entitlement to a compensable disability rating for service-connected bilateral inguinal hernia is dismissed. 

Entitlement to a compensable disability rating for service-connected surgical scars, residuals of herniorrhaphy is dismissed. 

FINDING OF FACT

In December 2019, the Board was notified that the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, in November 2019.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to 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); 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 October 1945 to May 1947, and in the United States Air Force from January 1948 to August 1966. 

This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the Board) on appeal from a May 2016 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The rating decision, inter alia, denied service connection for acid reflux, bilateral foot arthritis, bilateral hand arthritis, bilateral hammertoes, cervical spine disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, CAD, hypertension, spinal stenosis, and myasthenia gravis.  The rating decision also denied compensable disability ratings for service-connected bilateral inguinal hernia and surgical scars.  The Veteran timely appealed.  The Statement of the Case was issued in October 2018.  

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).  This appeal on the merits has 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.

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 in this decision).  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).

 

 

L. B. CRYAN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. Kuksova, 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.