Citation Nr: 21005511 Decision Date: 02/01/21 Archive Date: 02/01/21 DOCKET NO. 11-17 757 DATE: February 1, 2021 ORDER Service connection for headaches is dismissed. Service connection for a back condition is dismissed. Service connection for a left shoulder condition is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT On January 11, 2021 the Board was notified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office, that the appellant died in January 2021. 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 U.S. Air Force from September 1973 to February 1985. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a July 2008 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery, Alabama. In October 2017, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a hearing held at the RO. A transcript of that hearing has been associated with the record. Service connection for headaches, back condition, and left shoulder condition 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. 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; see 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. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Zimmerman 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.