Citation Nr: 21008529 Decision Date: 02/17/21 Archive Date: 02/17/21 DOCKET NO. 20-24 216 DATE: February 17, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for acne keloidal of the right ear and posterior neck is dismissed. Entitlement to an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss, rated 10 percent disabling prior to January 17, 2018, and 0 percent disabling from that date, 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 served on active duty for training from November 1983 to April 1984 and from April 1987 to April 1991. The Board is thankful for the Veteran's honorable service to our country. These matters are before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a March 2018 rating decision of a VA Regional Office (RO). The March 2020 Statement of the Case (SOC) included the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back condition. However, the Veteran did not perfect his appeal as to this matter by filing a substantive appeal (his May 2020 VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans’ Appeals (substantive appeal), was limited to the claims for increased ratings for acne keloidal of the right ear and posterior neck and bilateral hearing loss.) Thus, the matter of service connection for a back condition is not before the Board at this time. VA was notified in December 2020 via telephone contact (VA Form 27-0820), that the Veteran had died earlier in December 2020; such communication was transcribed into a report that was then associated with the Veteran’s electronic claims file. The report of the Veteran’s death is also confirmed in an obituary and notice of viewing and burial services. As there is no evidence to the contrary, the Board accepts these communications as proof of the Veteran’s death during the pendency of the appeal and before the Board promulgated a decision on the appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 3.211(e)-(f). 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. 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). M. C. GRAHAM Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Kshama Hughes 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.