The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant, and no service connection claim is pending.
The deciding factor: The appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, making it impossible for the Board to adjudicate the merits of the case.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder impingement syndrome, osteoarthritis, status post arthroscopy with bicep tenotomy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2020
- Citation
- A20018781
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 A20018781.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 multiple conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, right hip degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis with acetabular cyst status post right total hip replacement, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus type II, fever sores, and a compromised immune system, as the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected headaches were granted a rating of 50 percent, and she was also granted TDIU, DEA, and SMC for the period from March 27, 2017, to August 20, 2017.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for right shoulder impingement syndrome, allergic rhinitis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. However, it granted service connection for headaches and remanded the claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood and alcohol use disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's request for an earlier effective date for service connection for various conditions, including cervical spine disability, numbness of upper extremities, right shoulder impingement syndrome, allergic rhinitis, and scars.
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