The Veteran's appeals for increased evaluations of painful scar and surgical scar, both from the left ankle, have been dismissed due to his 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 case.
- Claimed conditions
- painful scar, left ankle, surgical scar, left ankle
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20072182
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 was dismissed as a matter of law due to the proposed reductions being reversed after a finding of clear and unmistakable error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip osteoarthritis and right hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's now service-connected knee disabilities, but denied service connection for a variety of other conditions including bilateral ankle, shoulder, foot, mood disorder, tinnitus, hyperlipidemia, and knees.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral foot and ankle conditions to correct a duty to assist error, requiring medical opinions on their relationship to the Veteran's service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for left ankle, right knee, and left knee as secondary to the service-connected right ankle due to a lack of development by the AOJ.
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