Citation Nr: 21023523 Decision Date: 04/20/21 Archive Date: 04/20/21 DOCKET NO. 18-48 343 DATE: April 20, 2021 ORDER Reopening of entitlement to service connection for a back condition (previously claimed as low back pain), to include as secondary to service-connected left knee disability, is dismissed. Reopening of entitlement to service connection for a left hip condition, to include as secondary to service-connected left knee disability, is dismissed. Reopening of entitlement to service connection for a right hip condition, to include as secondary to service-connected left knee disability, is dismissed. Reopening of entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, to include as due to herbicide agent exposure, is dismissed. Reopening of entitlement to service connection for a right knee condition, to include as secondary to service-connected left knee disability, is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for a neck condition is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for a kidney condition, to include as due to herbicide agent exposure, is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as due to herbicide agent exposure, is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is dismissed. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than April 5, 2010, for the 30 percent rating for persistent depressive disorder is dismissed. Entitlement to an initial increased rating above 10 percent prior to April 5, 2010, for persistent depressive disorder is dismissed. Entitlement to an increased rating above 30 percent since April 5, 2010, for persistent depressive disorder is dismissed. Entitlement to an increased rating above 30 percent for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with pyrosis is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In April 2021, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in April 2021; to date, no eligible party has requested to continue the appeal as a substitute claimant. CONCLUSION OF LAW Due to the Veteran’s death, 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 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had qualifying service from May 1967 to November 1969. Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. See April 2021 Report of Death by the Social Security Administration. 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 Veteran’s death 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). R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board H. Daus, 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.