The Veteran's appeals for service connection for bladder cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate these claims as they are pending.
The deciding factor: The Veteran passed away during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board cannot issue a decision on the underlying claims at this time and must dismiss this appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder cancer, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2026
- Citation
- A26024385
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 A26024385.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his myocardial infarction and COPD to his military service.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bladder cancer, erectile dysfunction, and gouty arthropathy due to outstanding VA treatment records not being obtained. The Veteran's request for a referral to a urologist for ED is also remanded. A VA medical opinion is needed regarding the relationship between the Veteran's gouty arthropathy and his service-connected conditions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bladder and kidney cancer were dismissed as the Notice of Disagreement was not filed within one year of the denial.
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