The Veteran's appeals for higher ratings on bilateral defective hearing and left ankle injury residuals, as well as his claims for special monthly compensation based on a need for aid and attendance or due to being housebound, and eligibility for a grant for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation have been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.
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 at this time.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral defective hearing, left ankle injury residuals
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19178846
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 19178846.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Dismissed
The appeals for effective date prior to April 4, 2017 for TDIU and higher extraschedular ratings for left foot pes planus and left ankle injury residuals are dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Board has granted the readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral defective hearing and tinnitus, as new and relevant evidence was received.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and clarification of opinions regarding the severity of the Veteran's service-connected left ankle, left foot, and right foot disabilities. The issues include higher extraschedular ratings, a separate compensable rating, and TDIU prior to April 4, 2017.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance of another person throughout the period on appeal, warranting SMC based on the need for aid and attendance.
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.