We’ve helped veterans where several years have gone by as they struggle to enter back into society and lead a productive life. This can be especially true with mental health-related disability claims.įor example, many veterans returning from war may experience symptoms of PTSD or other mental health disorders but frequently fail to seek treatment until a loved one urges them to do so. In some instances, having someone (like a friend or family member) who knew you before your military service and observed you after service can be beneficial. If you suffered an injury or event in service that went unrecorded, or those records were destroyed, a statement from a buddy who served with you and witnessed the event or injury has to be weighed and considered by the VA when determining service connection. Just as with combat-related claims where no diagnosis or treatment occurred during service, buddy letters along with personal statements can be valuable when you lack medical documentation. In these situations, if medical records are no longer available, you can obtain credible statements to gap the dates of treatment. Lost Medical RecordsĪfter several years, most medical facilities destroy medical records. A buddy letter from a fellow service member who was there and witnessed the incident can make the difference between a grant and a denial. In those instances, a credible statement can strongly support a winning claim. Or an injury or event doesn’t require a veteran to seek immediate medical treatment for what eventually becomes a ratable disability. Often, combat situations don’t afford the time to see a corpsman/medic to obtain medical evidence of an in-service event or stressor. The VA can lose or misplace files and records, but sometimes “lost medical records” means a medical record never existed. Claims that may benefit from a buddy letter include: Combat-Related Claims While many veterans can skip obtaining a buddy letter to support a claim, there ARE certain cases where a buddy letter might strengthen your claim. We highly recommend using VA Form 21-4138 to provide key supporting evidence for most claims. (We specialize in helping veterans build and win claims this way!)įor a Statement in Support of Claim, you’ll need to use form VA 21-4138. In the absence of service treatment records or current symptoms, a Statement in Support of Claim (personal statement) can be extremely helpful documentation to strengthen your claim.Ī well-done Statement in Support of Claim can help complete what is known as a fully-developed claim-a well-supported, complete presentation of your case that has a higher likelihood of winning and tends to be approved faster. There are specific cases where it may be beneficial to include a buddy statement to win your claim, and we will discuss that further in this article. In this case, our strong relationships with former VA raters/adjudicators has affirmed our observation about buddy letters. After helping 15,000 veterans win claims and increase ratings, we’ve responded to patterns that others miss. We realize this may go against the prevailing “wisdom” of VA lawyers and other VA claim services, but we’ve departed from a number of supposedly “tried and true” beliefs -and that’s part of what’s made us the most successful. Conflicting information from lay witnesses (and that’s often what happens) can actually slow down your claim and even lead to denial. While we used to recommend buddy letters (or buddy statements) from first-hand witnesses, the fact is we’ve seen buddy letters “muddy the waters” and hurt more than help in many cases. Sometimes-but not as often as we used to believe.
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