Citation Nr: 21012151
Decision Date: 03/03/21	Archive Date: 03/03/21

DOCKET NO. 17-38 074
DATE: March 3, 2021

ORDER

The claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus is dismissed.

The claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed

FINDING OF FACT

On July 25, 2021, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in July 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 in the United States Navy on active service from June 1983 to June 1989.  This claim arises before the Board of Veterans Appeals from a rating decision of the Cleveland, Ohio, Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office.

Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, as certified by Social Security Administration records.  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 Veteran 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 (2018); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2020).  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 Veteran should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).

 

 

WILLIAM H. DONNELLY

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Bakke, Lila J.

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.