When you have a disabling medical condition from your military service, you might apply for disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Various types of evidence can help support a veteran’s disability benefits claims, including “buddy” statements. Buddy statements allow people in your life to provide critical information and context to support your benefits application. But what makes a buddy statement “effective” for a VA disability claim?
What Is a Buddy Statement?
A “buddy statement” is a written document in which a person provides a firsthand account of events they witnessed related to a veteran’s claimed disability. Buddy statements can come from various people who may have information relevant to a veteran’s disability benefits claim, including:
- Fellow service members who witnessed the in-service event(s) that caused the veteran’s disability
- Civilian employers and co-workers who have seen how a veteran’s condition has limited their ability to work
- Family members and friends who have witnessed how a veteran’s disability has impaired their daily activities or social life
People who submit buddy statements to support a veteran’s disability benefits claim can use VA Form 21-10210 to provide their statement in a standard format that will help the VA process the statement and include it in the veteran’s claim file.
Why Buddy Statements Matter in VA Disability Benefits Claims
Buddy statements can play a key role in a VA disability benefits claim. Statements can help corroborate a veteran’s specific claims or fill gaps in the evidentiary record, such as describing an in-service event not documented in the veteran’s service record or providing real-life context about a veteran’s limitations not described in medical records. Buddy statements can also support a veteran’s description of how their condition has limited their work or personal life, including the initial onset date of symptoms and the frequency and severity of symptoms the veteran experiences.
Key Elements of an Effective Buddy Statement
Some of the most important guidelines to follow to craft a compelling buddy statement that can strengthen a veteran’s disability benefits claim include:
- Specificity: An effective buddy statement will provide specific incidents or dates when describing in-service events or illustrating the limitations caused by a veteran’s condition.
- Firsthand knowledge: A person writing a buddy statement should speak only from their firsthand knowledge, rather than relay what others may have told them about an in-service event or the veteran’s condition.
- Relevancy: Statements should provide directly relevant information about the veteran’s condition. For example, if the veteran has claimed a musculoskeletal disability, a buddy statement should not spend significant time discussing how the condition has made the veteran feel depressed (unless the veteran has claimed depression as a secondary condition).
- Consistency: Buddy statements should be both internally consistent (the author should not write something that contradicts another part of the statement) and consistent with the rest of the record evidence.
Common Errors to Avoid
Things to avoid when writing a buddy statement on behalf of a veteran include:
- Using vague or generic language
- Providing medical opinions that the author is not qualified to give
- Failing to establish one’s relationship with the veteran and the timeframe of that relationship (if relevant)
- Making statements that conflict with objective medical evidence
Contact Our VA Disability Benefits Law Firm for Help
Written statements from your fellow service members, civilian employers, friends, and family members can help you bolster your claims in your VA disability application. Contact Kinman Law Office today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a VA disability benefits lawyer to learn more about the importance of buddy statements and to discuss tips that can help your friends, fellow service members, or family create an effective statement to support your disability benefits claim.