Citation Nr: 21032571
Decision Date: 05/27/21	Archive Date: 05/27/21

DOCKET NO. 17-17 543
DATE: May 27, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for a low back disorder is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is dismissed.

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for unspecified depressive disorder with panic disorder for the period prior to January 22, 2020, is dismissed.

Entitlement to an effective date earlier than June 4, 2012, for the grant of service connection for unspecified depressive disorder with panic disorder, is dismissed.

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) for the period prior to January 22, 2020, is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

On May 17, 2021 the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) was notified that the Veteran died in April 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 January 22, 1974 to December 26, 1974. These matters are before the Board on appeal from a decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).

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.

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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).

 

 

S. L. Kennedy

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Robert Batten

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.