Citation Nr: 21000701 Decision Date: 01/06/21 Archive Date: 01/06/21 DOCKET NO. 17-66 795 DATE: January 6, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for benign prostatic hyperplasia is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for bradycardia is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for myofascial pain syndrome is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for allergic rhinitis is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for non-freezing cold injury to bilateral hands and feet (claimed as arthritis) is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for seizure disorder is dismissed. Entitlement to higher initial ratings for service-connected bilateral hearing loss rated as noncompensable (zero percent) prior to August 20, 2020 and 10 percent thereafter is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In December 2020, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in December 2020. 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. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from December 1954 to July 1963 and from November 1963 to April 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions dated April 2014 and October 2016 of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In a September 2018 decision, the Board remanded the claims on appeal. In an August 2020 rating decision, the RO increased the assigned initial rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss to 10 percent from August 20, 2020. A supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) was issued in November 2020. The Veteran’s VA claims file has been returned to the Board. The September 2018 Board decision also remanded the matter of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). A June 2020 rating decision granted service connection for unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder and assigned a 50 percent rating from November 16, 2012. That matter has accordingly been resolved. See, e.g., Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1136 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (where an appealed claim for service connection is granted during the pendency of the appeal, a second notice of disagreement must thereafter be timely filed to initiate appellate review of “downstream” issues such as the compensation level assigned for the disability or the effective date of service connection). 1. Entitlement to service connection for benign prostatic hyperplasia. 2. Entitlement to service connection for bradycardia. 3. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension. 4. Entitlement to service connection for myofascial pain syndrome. 5. Entitlement to service connection for allergic rhinitis. 6. Entitlement to service connection for COPD. 7. Entitlement to service connection for non-freezing cold injury to the bilateral hands and feet (claimed as arthritis). 8. Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer. 9. Entitlement to service connection for seizure disorder. 10. Entitlement to higher initial ratings for service-connected bilateral hearing loss in excess of zero percent prior to August 20, 2020 and 10 percent thereafter. 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 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. 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). K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. K. Buckley, 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.