The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, and thus lost jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the claim.
The deciding factor: The veteran's death rendered the case moot due to lack of jurisdiction.
- Claimed conditions
- ulcerative colitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2002
- Citation
- 0204967
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0204967.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for ulcerative colitis, finding that the Veteran's symptoms most closely approximate moderately severe ulcerative colitis with frequent exacerbations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of ulcerative colitis to address whether it is secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C, ulcerative colitis, lung disease, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board granted a request to readjudicate the claim of service connection for ulcerative colitis based on new and relevant evidence, but remanded the issue for further development.
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