Citation Nr: 21061499
Decision Date: 10/04/21	Archive Date: 10/04/21

DOCKET NO. 17-65 366
DATE: October 4, 2021

ORDER

The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for the loss of teeth for compensation purposes is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

In September 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) received notification that the Veteran had died.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the appellant, 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 in the Oregon Army National Guard, which included a period of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) from May 1961 to November 1961.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2017 rating decision by the VA Regional Office (RO).

In July 2019, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record.

In a November 2019 decision, the Board, in pertinent part, denied the issue of entitlement to service connection for the loss of teeth 7, 8, and 9 for compensation purposes.  The Veteran then appealed the November 2019 decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and in an October 2020 memorandum decision, the Court vacated the November 2019 Board decision regarding the issue of entitlement to service connection for the loss of teeth 7, 8, and 9 for compensation purposes and remanded the claim for further development.  

Unfortunately, the appellant died during the pendency of this appeal.  As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths.  Therefore, this appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

There are, however, provisions in place to allow for an eligible person to take the Veteran's place in his appeal in order to get a final decision.  This process is called substitution.  The request to be substituted must be filed within one year of the Veteran's death.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).  To file a request for substitution, you may use VA Form 21P-0847, "Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant," which can be found online here: https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21P-0847-ARE.pdf. 

The completed form may be submitted electronically via ACCESSVA.  The web address for ACCESSVA is https://eauth.va.gov/accessva/?cspSelectFor=dmhs.  Alternatively, you may mail the completed form to:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Pension Intake Center

PO Box 5365

Janesville, WI 53547-5365

You may also submit the form directly to your nearest VA regional office.  To find a VA regional office nearest you go to https://www.va.gov/find-locations/?facilityType=benefits. 

Please note that only certain persons are eligible for substitution.  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). There is a helpful factsheet that explains who is eligible for accrued benefits here: https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/general/Accrued.pdf 

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. 

 

J.W. ZISSIMOS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	B. Rideout-Davidson, 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.