The appeal for service connection for various conditions and a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Board lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Guillain-Barre syndrome, pulmonary embolism, ascending aortic aneurysm, bladder disability, bowel resection residuals including colostomy residuals, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25051100
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for chronic kidney disease was dismissed due to the Veteran not timely filing a Notice of Disagreement within one year of the rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.