What happens when your claim grows dust in the file room:
It’s not vA’s fault. The stupid Vet just didn’t file soon enough. If he’s been responsible, he’d have filed for this in 1969 when he came home from Nam. Considering they tell us there’s no dx of Hep C in our medrecs from back then, that stands to reason. We just blew it off on filing for it. Not just stupid. Lazy and stupid…. or lying.
asknod
Bethanie Spangenberg
kcraveiro
robinhoodesqvetsatty
Wesley McCauley
Veterans Claims Help 
So if I am reading this correctly, if a Veteran dies while his claim is either yet to be adjudicated or in an appeal status, and the spouse could potentially be awarded DIC bennies, she can file as a ‘substitute’?
Yes but she must do so within one year of his death or start over from scratch at the RO.