The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been dismissed due to his death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- Memory loss, Fracture to the inferior facet of L1 vertebra with degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Left and right lower extremity femoral and sciatic nerve branch radiculopathies, Bilateral obturator nerve, external cutaneus nerve, and ilio-inguinal nerves
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19109862
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 17% (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 19109862.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 has granted the Veteran's request to readjudicate his claims for service connection for PTSD (claimed as schizophrenia), headaches, and schizophrenia. The claim for memory loss and residuals of head injury remains denied due to lack of new and relevant evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's need for supervision, protection, or instruction on a continuous basis due to memory loss and the need for back surgery has been recognized. The Board has granted a Level 2 stipend under VA's PCAFC program.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current memory loss is likely caused by head trauma sustained during service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal regarding service connection for memory loss and seizures has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.