Citation Nr: 21069441
Decision Date: 11/18/21	Archive Date: 11/18/21

DOCKET NO. 18-29 551
DATE: November 18, 2021

ORDER

The issue of service connection for Parkinson's disease is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran died in 2021 while this appeal was pending.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for dismissal of a claim for service connection for Parkinson's disease have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran had active service from August 1971 to August 1975.

The issue of service connection for Parkinson's disease is dismissed.

The Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. In October 2021, prior to a Board decision on the matter, VA was notified that the Veteran had died. 

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; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a). 

(CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE.)

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).

 

 

Vito A. Clementi

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Timothy T. Emmart

The Board's action is binding only in this case. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.