Citation Nr: 22019526
Decision Date: 04/01/22	Archive Date: 04/01/22

DOCKET NO. 14-41 004
DATE: April 1, 2022

ORDER

The appeal as to the claim for higher initial disability ratings for service-connected right upper extremity polyneuropathy, rated as 10 percent disabling from September 17, 2012, 20 percent disabling from September 5, 2019, and rated as 70 percent disabling from November 13, 2020, is dismissed.

The appeal as to the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service connected disability, is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

On February 23, 2022, the Board was notified that the appellant died in February 2022. 

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the appellant, the Board is unable 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 November 1966 to April 1967 and from May 1968 to September 1969.

This case is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2013 Regional Office (RO) rating decision.  In that rating decision, the RO denied entitlement to service connection for heart disease, left upper extremity neuropathy to include as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, and bilateral lower extremity neuropathy to include as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus.  The RO granted service connection for right upper peripheral neuropathy and assigned a 10 percent disability rating, effective from September 17, 2012.

The Veteran's notice of disagreement (NOD) was received in May 2014.  The RO issued a statement of the case (SOC) in October 2014.  The Veteran's VA Form 9, substantive appeal to the Board, was received in November 2014.

While the claims were pending, the RO granted service connection for heart disease, left upper extremity neuropathy and bilateral lower extremity neuropathy. Therefore, those claims are no longer on appeal.

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.

 

 

L. B. CRYAN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	B. Berry, 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.