The Board dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's death, and no service connection was granted or denied.
The deciding factor: The appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, making it impossible for the Board to make a decision on the merits.
- Claimed conditions
- Brain tumor
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20004932
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that a brain tumor was related to his military service or toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Granted
The Board granted recognition of A.G. as the helpless child of the Veteran on the basis of permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining the age of 18.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and records from the Veteran's Community Care program.
- Granted
The Veteran's brain tumor, which caused his death in July 2014, is considered to be related to his service exposure to Agent Orange. The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death based on this evidence.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.