Citation Nr: 21001506 Decision Date: 01/08/21 Archive Date: 01/08/21 DOCKET NO. 20-22 854 DATE: January 8, 2021 ORDER The appeal for a disability evaluation in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with major depressive disorder (MDD), alcohol use disorder and neurocognitive disorder from October 17, 1988 through August 31, 2010, is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT On December 16, 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. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1961 to December 1964. This case is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2018 Regional Office (RO) rating decision that, pursuant to a June 2013 Board decision, granted entitlement to an effective date of October 17, 1988 for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder and assigned a 70 percent disability rating September 1, 2010. Although the Board decision granted an earlier effective date for the service connection, it would be prejudicial for the Board to assign an initial disability in the first instance for that period of time. Accordingly, in the August 2018 rating decision, the RO assigned an initial disability rating of 30 percent for the service-connected PTSD with MDD and alcohol use disorder, for the period from October 17, 1988 through August 31, 2010. The Veteran appealed for a higher initial rating. During the pendency of the appeal, the RO issued a rating decision in March 2020, granting an increased rating to 70 percent for the service-connected PTSD with MDD and alcohol use disorder, effective from October 17, 1988 through August 31, 2010. On the same day, the RO also issued a Statement of the Case denying a rating in excess of 70 percent. The Veteran’s VA Form 9, substantive appeal to the Board, was received in May 2020. 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. 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. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b). L. B. CRYAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board B. Berry, 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.