Citation Nr: 22019280
Decision Date: 03/31/22	Archive Date: 03/31/22

DOCKET NO. 19-36 017
DATE: March 31, 2022

ORDER

Entitlement to rating higher than 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is dismissed.

Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 70 percent for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed. 

Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 29, 2018 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus is dismissed. 

Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 29, 2018 for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed. 

FINDING OF FACT

On November 17, 2021, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) was notified that the appellant died in November 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 January 1967 to August 1969, for which he received the Bronze Star Medal. 

This appeal comes to the Board from rating decisions issued in September 2018 and January 2019. The Veteran filed a notices of disagreement in June 2019, which resulted in two statements of the case (SOCs) issued in September 2019. Thereafter, the Veteran filed a substantive appeal for all issues listed on the SOCs in November 2019.

Unfortunately, the appellant died during the pendency of this appeal.  As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths.  Therefore, this appeal must be dismissed.  38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

There are, however, provisions in place to allow for an eligible person to take the Veteran's place in his appeal in order to get a final decision.  This process is called substitution.  The request to be substituted must be filed within one year of the Veteran's death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).  To file a request for substitution, you may use VA Form 21P-0847, "Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant," which can be found online here: https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21P-0847-ARE.pdf.  

The completed form may be submitted electronically via ACCESSVA.  The web address for ACCESSVA is https://eauth.va.gov/accessva/?cspSelectFor=dmhs.  Alternatively, you may mail the completed form to:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Pension Intake Center

PO Box 5365

Janesville, WI 53547-5365

You may also submit the form directly to your nearest VA regional office.  To find a VA regional office nearest you go to https://www.va.gov/find-locations/?facilityType=benefits.

Please note that only certain persons are eligible for substitution. 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). There is a helpful factsheet that explains who is eligible for accrued benefits here: https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/general/Accrued.pdf.

 

 

LAURA E. COLLINS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Solomon

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.