The Veteran's appeal for a compensable disability rating for his left leg scar has been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, and as a result, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- scar, residual shell fragment wound (SFW) of the left leg
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19189494
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 19189494.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, considering that his service-connected orthopedic disabilities and major depressive disorder contributed substantially to his death.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for initial increased ratings for thoracolumbar spine arthritis, cervical spine arthritis, bilateral lower extremity femoral radiculopathy, and a scar.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters of an initial compensable rating for hemorrhoid and service connection for a scar, to include as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hemorrhoid disability due to inadequate VA examination and missing medical records.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder and heart condition were dismissed because they were granted benefits. A 10 percent rating was granted for the scar.
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