The Board dismissed the appeal due to the Veteran's death, as they have no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim.
The deciding factor: The appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board has no jurisdiction to proceed with the case.
- Claimed conditions
- ear fungus
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 28, 2009
- Citation
- 0932393
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 0932393.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Board found that the preponderance of the competent medical and other evidence of record is against a finding that the Veteran incurred chronic residuals as a result of in-service ear infection(s) to include ear fungus, and also against a finding that he currently has a chronic ear disability that was caused or aggravated by his service-connected hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a VA ENT examination to determine the nature, extent, onset and etiology of any ear symptoms and/or any residuals of the in-service ear infection found to be present. The Veteran's claim will be readjudicated after the examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to insufficient VCAA notice and the need to locate his missing service treatment records.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, ear fungus, a nervous disorder, back spasms, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The decision also granted service connection for dizziness with a 10 percent disability evaluation effective February 3, 2005, but denied an initial compensable rating for gastroesophageal reflux disease.
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