The Veteran's appeal is dismissed because he died during the pendency of his appeal, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this case.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of his appeal, which resulted in a lack of jurisdiction for the Board to consider the merits of the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder with depression and anxiety
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19113938
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 19113938.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 an initial evaluation of 70 percent for mood disorder with depression and anxiety, but no higher.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a left knee disability and TDIU as moot due to the Veteran's current 100% rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination and updated medical records.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for diabetes mellitus, mood disorder with depression and anxiety, and congestive heart failure as a result of exposure to herbicides.
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