04 Jun Buddy Statements

When it comes time to apply for benefits, any bit of documentation or evidence can help a case significantly. Sometimes on your own it can be very hard to provide the necessary proof to connect your injury or sickness to your time serving. Luckily, there are some alternative ways to help out veterans who catch themselves stuck in a situation like this. Buddy statements are just one of a few ways you can help provide for yourself or others some evidence they will need to use to help win their case. 

A buddy statement is used when someone close to the veteran is aware of their current physical or mental state and is able to provide information. They can do this by either verbally informing on the veterans situation or they can do it through a written statement. Usually, a buddy statement is written or spoken about the veterans current situation by someone close like a relative, spouse, friend, children, etc.

These statements do not guarantee that a veterans case will be successful. However, these are a great tool to utilize and can greatly increase a veterans chance of having a successful claim. Another thing to keep in mind is exactly what a buddy statement can provide for the veteran. A buddy statement will never qualify as a diagnosis, you must visit a doctor for something like that. 

A buddy statement however is used in describing specific moments together in which the injury occurred or will help explain how commonly it is affecting the veteran, depending on who is writing the buddy letter. Remember, the more material you can provide to help support your VA claim, the better off your chances become. Another important topic is that if you have a close friend from your time in service, they as well can help provide a buddy statement.

This is an even better way of having someone close to you write a statement. They will be able to provide and support certain times of when and where your injuries occurred and whatever else you are claiming. Especially if this military friend had witnessed the event, this should benefit you greatly during the claims process.

The buddy statement is also suggested to be done using the VA 21-4138 Form. It consists of only a few sections to fill out that asks for personal information such as name, date of birth, service number, etc. You do not need to use this form to write a buddy later, it is just suggested to do so this way but using any old piece of paper will work.

How To Write A Buddy Statement

Buddy letters are sometimes misinterpreted and are longer than need be. These letters are not required to be long and should typically be kept short for most veterans cases. For friends of the veteran who served with them and would be writing such a letter, they should include when and where they were serving with the veteran and what the actual injury was that occurred, as well as how this injury occurred.

For a family member or close one, they would need to provide things such as how their injury or disease affects them day to day and how often is it affecting them within a day. The information being provided will be drastically different from a spouse writing it to a fellow veteran that served with them writing the letter. Lastly they will also need to provide their personal signature and a final closing certifying that their statements and writing are completely true. These are all the requirements needed to successfully provide a proper buddy statement for a veterans VA claim from.