The Veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral restless leg syndrome was dismissed due to his death before a decision could be made.
The deciding factor: The appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, and therefore the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral restless leg syndrome
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20080843
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (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 20080843.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension, equilibrium disorder (claimed as bad balance and equilibrium), bilateral restless leg syndrome, bilateral upper extremity tremor, melanoma, and acquired psychiatric disability due to a lack of adequate medical opinions regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and Agent Orange in Japan.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea, an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral restless leg syndrome, bilateral tremors of the hands, chronic headaches, facial dermatosis, erectile dysfunction (loss of use of a creative organ due to varicocele), and varicocele. The Veteran's symptoms have been observed since his time in service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case to allow for a full review of the Veteran's claims, including his October 2023 claim for service connection for depression and anxiety, as well as his claims for increased disability ratings. The cause of death claim will also be reconsidered.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for dysmenorrhea, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and irritable bowel syndrome are granted. The claims for chronic fatigue syndrome, dermatosis of the arms, and bilateral restless leg syndrome are denied.
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