Citation Nr: 21001548
Decision Date: 01/08/21	Archive Date: 01/08/21

DOCKET NO. 17-13 625
DATE: January 8, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for rheumatoid arthritis is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for osteoarthritis, bilateral upper extremities to include wrist, hands, fingers, and elbows is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for osteoarthritis, bilateral lower extremities to include ankles, knees, feet, and hips is dismissed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Board received notice in December 2020 that the Veteran died in November 2020.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Due to the death of the appellant, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (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 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from March 1985 to November 2000.

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The RO confirmed and continued a previous denial of service connection for osteoarthritis, bilateral upper extremities to include wrist, hands, fingers, and elbows, as well as osteoarthritis, bilateral lower extremities to include ankles, knees, feet, and hips. The RO also continued a denial for rheumatoid arthritis for lack of new and material evidence. A statement of the case issued in January 2017 continued these denials, and the case was certified to the Board in March 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).  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.

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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).

 

 

Shereen M. Marcus

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D. Boivin, 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.