The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for degenerative arthritis of the back has been dismissed due to his death.
The deciding factor: The appellant-Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, and as a result, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the back
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19130218
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's right hip strain, impairment of thigh and remanded the claim for an increased rating for degenerative arthritis of the back.
- Remanded (sent back)
The reduction of the evaluation from 50 percent to a 30 rating for service-connected right elbow disability based on limitation of flexion, effective May 7, 2018, was not proper.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient information regarding retrospective ranges of motion and additional functional impairment since 2009.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to his death. The appeal is dismissed as the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the claims at this time.
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