The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.
The deciding factor: The veteran died before a decision could be made on his claim, thus the Board had no jurisdiction over the matter.
- Claimed conditions
- shell fragment wound to the right buttock
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2004
- Citation
- 0410410
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 292 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0410410.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 VA has determined that the veteran's residuals of a shell fragment wound to the right buttock warrant an increased rating to 20 percent, effective from the date of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further development is needed to assess the current severity of the veteran's service-connected right upper extremity and buttock disabilities, including any neurological problems in his right hand. The AMC will obtain medical records from VA and private providers, as well as employment information from the U.S. Postal Service.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's service-connected right hip disability more closely approximates the criteria associated with a 10 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 5318, and therefore denied an increased rating.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for residuals of a shell fragment wound to the right buttock and dismissed the claim of service connection clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
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