Citation Nr: 21021863
Decision Date: 04/14/21	Archive Date: 04/14/21

DOCKET NO. 18-50 270
DATE: April 14, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for melanoma of the left temple, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for bronchiectasis, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for chronic bronchitis, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for chronic kidney disease, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, to include as secondary to diabetes mellitus type II or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, to include as secondary to diabetes mellitus type II or Camp Lejeune contaminated water, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction, to include as secondary to diabetes mellitus type II or Camp Lejeune contaminated water is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for fatigue, to include as secondary to diabetes mellitus type II or Camp Lejeune contaminated water is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as secondary to diabetes mellitus type II or Camp Lejeune contaminated water is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

In February 2021 the Board was notified that 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) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2020).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

Unfortunately, the appellant 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).  his 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).

 

 

A. S. CARACCIOLO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	G. E. Wilkerson, 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.