The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of lower back and bilateral knee disabilities due to the death of the appellant.
The deciding factor: The appeal was dismissed because the appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, thus losing jurisdiction over the merits of the case.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back disability, bilateral knee disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004105
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 service connection claim for a bilateral knee disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including scheduling an additional VA examination.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chest pain, a gastrointestinal disability, a neck disability, and a bilateral knee disability. The Veteran was also denied a compensable rating for iliotibial band syndrome of the right hip and for right hip limitation of extension.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lower back disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition had its onset during his service and has progressively worsened since separation.
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