Citation Nr: 21040359
Decision Date: 07/03/21	Archive Date: 07/03/21

DOCKET NO. 20-15 741
DATE: July 3, 2021

ORDER

The appeal for service connection for low back disability, for service connection for left knee disability, for service connection for right knee disability, and for an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss, is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

On April 5, 2021, the Board was notified that the Veteran died on April [REDACTED], 2021.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the appellant, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2020).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Veteran had active service from June 1979 to June 1999. In an August 2018 rating decision, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) denied service connection for disabilities of his back and left and right knees. The RO granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and assigned a 0 percent, noncompensable disability rating. The Veteran appealed those decisions to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board).

Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. On April 5, 2021, the Veteran's surviving spouse informed VA that the Veteran died on April [REDACTED], 2021.

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.

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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).

 

 

K. PARAKKAL

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. J. Kunz, 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.