The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal. The claims for increase and service connection remain in appellate status.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died while his appeal was pending, thus the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with unspecified restrictive lung disease, disc disease of lumbar spine, herniated nucleus pulposus, right thumb injury, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, loss of motion ring or little finger, multiple myeloma (bone cancer), peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19125872
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection and increased ratings due to a procedural error regarding notice of the right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including knee and foot conditions, a low back disability, radiculopathy, tinnitus, and a neck condition, to correct pre-decisional errors in fulfilling VA's duty to assist by rescheduling missed examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left and right eye dry eyes, cataracts of the left and right eyes, neuropathy of the left lower extremity, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, left renal arteriovenous malformation, aneurysm, pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine, recurrent subluxation of the left knee prior to May 13, 2020, left total knee replacement, disability rating in excess of 60 percent from September 1, 2021, forward for left total knee replacement, DJD of the right knee, right knee instability, burns of the bilateral ankles, linear scar of the left knee, post-surgical tender scars of the left knee, and a total disability rating due to unemployability (TDIU) based upon service-connected disabilities prior to June 14, 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, and peripheral neuropathy of the left and right lower extremities due to new and relevant evidence having been received.
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