Citation Nr: 21011096 Decision Date: 02/26/21 Archive Date: 02/26/21 DOCKET NO. 19-01 377 DATE: February 26, 2021 ORDER Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is dismissed. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for depression is dismissed. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for drug addiction is dismissed. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for hemorrhoids is dismissed. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for right hand condition is dismissed. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for back disc, lower back pain is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In February 2021, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) was notified that the Veteran died in January 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 on active duty from October 1977 to May 1981. He died in January 2021. This case comes before the Board on appeal from an April 2017 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) which, in pertinent part, denied the Veteran’s claims for service connection for PTSD, depression, drug addiction, hemorrhoids, right hand condition, and back disc, lower back pain, as evidence submitted since the previous denial was not new and material. This decision was appealed in a notice of disagreement (NOD) received by VA in January 2018. A Statement of the Case (SOC) was issued by VA in December 2018. VA received the Veteran’s Substantive Appeal (VA Form 9) in January 2019, requesting a hearing before the Board at the local VA RO. Although a virtual tele-hearing was scheduled, the Veteran passed away prior to its commencement. Death Dismissal 1. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. 2. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for depression. 3. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for drug addiction. 4. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for hemorrhoids. 5. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for right hand condition. 6. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for back disc, lower back pain. 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 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 (Continued on the next page) should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b). K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A.N., Associate 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.