The Veteran's appeal for service connection and SMC has been dismissed due to the deaths of both the Veteran and his daughter who was seeking substitution.
The deciding factor: Both the Veteran and his daughter died during the pendency of the appeal, making it impossible to proceed with the decision on the underlying claim(s).
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary, heart, kidney
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2024
- Citation
- A24071517
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (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 A24071517.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hernia, brain tumor, heart, esophagus, kidney, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and thyroid. The claim for bilateral hearing loss was remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all service connection issues, including left leg neuropathy, right leg neuropathy, sinus, rhinitis, asthma, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, thyroids, PTSD, diabetes, heart, right hemiparesis, cervical, and other conditions. The appeal is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors, including failing to request the Veteran's death certificate and not fully addressing accrued benefits or substitution issues. Further development is needed to potentially include obtaining outstanding treatment records and an examination/opinion regarding Vietnam service.
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