Citation Nr: 21069617
Decision Date: 11/19/21	Archive Date: 11/19/21

DOCKET NO. 16-01 903
DATE: November 19, 2021

ORDER

The appeal is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

On August 16, 2021, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in August 2021. 

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 in the United States Army with active duty from March 1989 to August 1991.

This case is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2012 Regional Office (RO) rating decision.  

The Veteran's notice of disagreement (NOD) was received in May 2012.  The RO issued a statement of the case (SOC) in November 2015.  The Veteran's VA Form 9, substantive appeal to the Board, was received in December 2015.

In May 2019, the Board remanded the case to the RO for further development and adjudicative action.

A June 2020 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) reflects that the issues on appeal to the Board at the time of the Veteran's death were:  entitlement to service connection for a neck disability, a low back disability, headaches, a left knee disability, and a disability manifested by syncope and orthostasis; and, entitlement to increased disability ratings for service-connected anxiety disorder, right knee recurrent subluxation, and right knee degenerative arthritis.

Unfortunately, the Veteran 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

 

 

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.