The Board dismissed the appeals for various issues related to service connection and effective dates due to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeals.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder (to include depression and anxiety), pulmonary disability (COPD and emphysema with secondary non active lung cancer)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070175
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 715 · Granted: 43% (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 20070175.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 appeal has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board cannot issue a decision on the merits of this appeal at this time.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities have been granted. The appeal is dismissed as these issues are no longer in dispute.,Right ear hearing loss was denied due to lack of audiometric findings meeting VA criteria.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection on all issues related to acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, high blood pressure, kidney failure, and diabetes is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and records.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for a lumbar spine disorder, headaches, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and sleep apnea due to the Veteran's death.
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.