The Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings and pension benefits have been dismissed due to his death.
The deciding factor: The appeal was dismissed because the Veteran passed away, making it impossible for the Board to consider the merits of the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the right ankle, degenerative joint disease of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19110266
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 940 · 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 19110266.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 Veteran's appeal for a higher level of SMC was denied as he does not meet the criteria for any additional levels of SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple disabilities, including various musculoskeletal conditions and mental health disorders.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for generalized seizure disorder, chronic sinusitis, deviated nasal septum, and scars, but granted increased ratings of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease in the left and right ankles.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of degenerative joint disease of the right ankle was denied.,The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for lower lip numbness, left cranial nerve V (previously claimed as lower lip numbness (nerve damage)) is remanded due to a duty to assist error.
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