The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the case is now closed.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of his appeal, making it impossible for the Board to adjudicate the merits of his claim.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis of the shoulders and legs
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20081312
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 20081312.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 case due to a need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's diagnosed osteoarthritis, which is claimed as rheumatoid arthritis of the shoulders and legs. The claim will be reconsidered based on the new opinions.
- Denied
The Veteran's pancreatitis, rash on the bilateral hands and above the ankles, and rheumatoid arthritis of the shoulders and legs were not found to be related to his military service or any other service-connected disability.,Service connection was denied for all three conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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