Citation Nr: 21040837
Decision Date: 07/07/21	Archive Date: 07/07/21

DOCKET NO. 17-22 550
DATE: July 7, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is dismissed.

Entitlement to an increased evaluation of bilateral hearing loss, currently evaluated as 0 percent disabling, is dismissed.

Reduction of the rating for service-connected diabetes mellitus associated with herbicide exposure, from 60 percent to 20 percent disabling effective February 2, 2019, is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for left alveolar squamous cell carcinoma of the mandible (claimed as cancer of the jaw) as a result of exposure to herbicide agents is dismissed.

Entitlement to service connection for back condition (claimed as previous three back surgeries and back operations for herniated discs) is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

On June 14, 2021, the Board was notified by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) that the appellant died in June 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 May 1969 to January 1971.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from July 2014, August 2018, and November 2018 rating decisions issued by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional offices.

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). This appeal on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the appellant and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See 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. See 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; see 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).

 

 

Tiffany Dawson

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	C. Banks, 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.