Citation Nr: 21013597
Decision Date: 03/09/21	Archive Date: 03/09/21

DOCKET NO. 19-07 082
DATE: March 9, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for a claimed disability of the neck is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran 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 on active duty from January 1974 to July 1976, with subsequent service in the Army National Guard.  This case comes to the Board from a December 2016 decision of the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ), which denied the claimed benefits listed above.  

Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of this appeal.  Information from the Social Security Administration reflects that he died in January 2021.

As a matter of law, appellants’ claims do not survive their deaths.  See 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 has become moot by virtue of the death of the Veteran and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  See 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302

In reaching this determination, the Board intimates no opinion as to the merits of this appeal or any derivative claim brought by a survivor of the Veteran.  See 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 Veteran's death.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A.  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.  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 Agency of Original Jurisdiction.  See 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).

 

 

DAVID L. WIGHT

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Nye, 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.