Citation Nr: 23041008
Decision Date: 07/26/23	Archive Date: 07/26/23

DOCKET NO. 20-15 920
DATE: July 26, 2023

ORDER

Entitlement to an effective date earlier than November 19, 2015 for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed. 

FINDING OF FACT

In July 2023, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in June 2023. 

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the appellant, the appeal is dismissed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1977 to June 1981. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a March 2016 rating decision under the Legacy review system of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. See July 2023 SSA Death Match. As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths. Therefore, the appeal is 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

 

SHAUN S. SPERANZA

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. R. Bobb, Associate 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.