The Board dismissed the appeal of the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings, as well as a claim for total disability based on individual unemployability due to the death of the appellant.
The deciding factor: The appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- ischemic heart disease, posttraumatic stress disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20073641
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Partly granted
The Board grants service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus began during his period of active duty service. The claims for ischemic heart disease, aortic valve replacement, status post aortic stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease with popliteal aneurysm are remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a temporary total evaluation because of hospital treatment in excess of 21 days for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder was withdrawn by the Veteran's representative and is therefore dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a new medical opinion regarding the Veteran's ischemic heart disease, as the previous opinions were found inadequate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of a heart condition, to include ischemic heart disease and/or cardiomyopathy due to cardiac amyloidosis, for further development.
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