Citation Nr: 21007933
Decision Date: 02/11/21	Archive Date: 02/11/21

DOCKET NO. 14-35 024A
DATE: February 11, 2021

ORDER

The claim for service connection for a sleep disorder is dismissed.

The claim for service connection for a heart condition is dismissed.

The claim for service connection for a back disability is dismissed.

The claim for service connection for a right hip disability is dismissed.

The claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type 2, is dismissed.

The claim for service connection for a dental condition, to include jaw pain, is dismissed.  

The claim for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities is dismissed.

The claim for service connection for an acquired psych condition, to include alcohol abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

In December 2020, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in December 2020.

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 had active duty service from April 1968 to December 1969.  The Veteran died in December 2020.  

This appeal arose out of an RO decision, dated in March 2013, which denied claims for service connection for a sleep disorder, a heart condition, a back disability, a right hip disability, diabetes mellitus, type 2, a dental condition, to include jaw pain, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, and an acquired psychiatric condition.  In September 2020, the Board remanded the claims for additional development.  

Unfortunately, the Veteran 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.

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).  

 

 

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	T.S.E., 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.