The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's death, and no jurisdiction remains for further consideration of the claims.
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 disability, left leg disability, bilateral lower extremity peripheral vascular disease (PVD), hepatitis C, skin cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20074476
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 hepatitis C, jaundice, hypogeusia, and hyposmia as there was no evidence of a current disability during the pendency of the claim.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and a right hip disability, and granted a 30 percent rating for ureterolithiasis. The claim for an increased rating for PTSD was denied, while other claims were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for various musculoskeletal conditions of the left and right hands, shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, and foot, but granted service connection for a right knee disability and fibromyalgia. The decision was based on medical evidence that did not support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and a TDIU, as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these disabilities were related to the Veteran's military service.
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