Citation Nr: 20028825 Decision Date: 04/24/20 Archive Date: 04/24/20 DOCKET NO. 17-64 301 DATE: April 24, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to a noninitial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected amputation of left index finger with degenerative arthritis, ankylosis 5th distal interphalangeal joint, profundus tendon rupture 5th finger, and healed fractured metacarpals 3, 4 & 5 is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In March 2020, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) received credible information indicating that the Veteran died on March [REDACTED], 2020. CONCLUSION OF LAW Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the Veteran's 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 from July 1957 to June 1976. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2016 rating decision issued by a VA Regional Office (RO). Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. As a matter of law, veterans’ 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 Veteran 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. (Continued on the next page)   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 Veteran’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 Veteran should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b). Cynthia M. Bruce Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Galante, 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.