Citation Nr: 25005306
Decision Date: 04/18/25	Archive Date: 04/18/25

DOCKET NO. 20-10 160
DATE: April 18, 2025

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for oral surgery residuals is dismissed.  

Entitlement to service connection for tooth extraction residuals, to include as secondary to oral surgery residuals, is dismissed.  

Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder, to include as secondary to oral surgery residuals, is dismissed.  

Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disorder, to include as secondary to oral surgery residuals, is dismissed.  

Entitlement to service connection for a right lower extremity disorder, to include as secondary to oral surgery residuals, is dismissed.  

Entitlement to service connection for a left lower extremity disorder, to include as secondary to oral surgery residuals, is dismissed.  

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. In February 2025, the Board was notified that the Veteran had died in earlier that month.   

2. The Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) has not made an initial substitution eligibility determination concerning the claims on appeal that were pending before the Board when the Veteran passed away.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of these appeals at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran had active naval service from December 1968 to November 1972. He died in February 2025.      

These matters come to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2017 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).   

In November 2020, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of the hearing is included in the claims file.  This case was previously before the Board in January 2024 and December 2024, at which time the issues currently on appeal were remanded for additional development. 

The Veteran died on February [REDACTED] 2025.  On February 27, 2025, the Veteran's spouse submitted a Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant (VA Form 21-0847) regarding the claims currently on appeal.  

When a request for substitution as claimant is pending, to include any request to substitute in an appeal pending before the Board, the AOJ must make the initial substitution eligibility determination pursuant with 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(e). The Board must dismiss the matter without prejudice, and the AOJ must make the substitution determination. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

In this case, the AOJ has not made an initial substitution eligibility determination concerning the claims of entitlement to service connection for oral surgery residuals, tooth extraction residuals, right and left hip disorders, and right and left lower extremity disorders that were pending before the Board when the Veteran passed away. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(e). 

Therefore, the claims must be dismissed, as the Board does not have jurisdiction over the appeal until the AOJ makes the initial substitution determination and provides written notice to the appellant of that decision. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(e); see 38 C.F.R. § 3.103 (b), (f). If a substitution determination is made by the AOJ pursuant to regulatory authority and procedure noted above, the appeal will be reactivated and assume its original place on the Board's docket.

Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed without prejudice. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106.

 

 

KRISTY L. ZADORA

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Christopher O'Donnell, 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.