The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died while this appeal was pending, and as a matter of law, the Board cannot issue a decision on the underlying claims at this time.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, chronic heart failure, pacemaker condition, anal cancer, aortic valve disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic kidney disease (CKD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), left leg deep vein thrombosis (DVT), right leg DVT, left ankle degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), left elbow degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), left hand or fingers degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), left hip degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), right ankle degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), right elbow degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), right hand or fingers degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), right hip degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis), erectile dysfunction, fecal incontinence (loss of bowel control), left foot gout, right foot gout, heart attack (myocardial infarction), left foot plantar fasciitis, left knee instability, left knee replacement (arthroplasty), left rotator cuff tear, left wrist carpal tunnel syndrome, right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome, right foot plantar fasciitis, right knee instability, right knee replacement (arthroplasty), right shoulder replacement (arthroplasty)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25108634
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 27% (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 A25108634.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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