Citation Nr: 21041161
Decision Date: 07/08/21	Archive Date: 07/08/21

DOCKET NO. 18-46 061A
DATE: July 8, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent prior to April 10, 2019, and in excess of 70 percent from April 10, 2019 to March 19, 2021 for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is dismissed.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for burn scars of the frontal scalp and above the upper lip is dismissed.

Entitlement to a compensable rating for a burns scar on the left hand is dismissed.

Entitlement to a compensable rating for a burn scar on the right hand is dismissed.

Entitlement to a compensable rating for residuals of a fractured 5th metacarpal fracture of the right hand is dismissed.

Entitlement to a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service connected disability (TDIU) from May 20, 2015 to March 10, 2018 is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

In July 2021, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in July 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 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Veteran served on active duty from July 1959 to April 1962.  Regrettably, the Veteran died in July 2021.

These matters come to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Board remanded the instant matters in November 2020 for additional development.

As noted above, the Veteran passed away in July 2021.  A substitute has not yet been appointed in the case.

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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).

 

 

KRISTY L. ZADORA

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Mariah N. Sim, 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.