Buddy Statements 2020

[Berta]

I tried to find my past article (s) on Buddy statements here and was not successful- there were 500posts that popped up , but not what I needed so maybe a new article will help-

A valid buddy statement requires the buddy to identify themselves as having been in your unit , same time and place, of the incident you are claiming that caused a MH issue such as PTSD or a physical disability such as an IED blast that caused you a TBI.They also can help considerably as "outcry" statements for MST claims-meaning you confided in someone after the MS assault and that your behavior changed while in the Military due to the MS assault.

In most cases, they, Buddys  need to give the VA a detailed account of the incident and your proximity to it.

In some cases they too might have already been service connected due to this same incident and they should let the VA know that as well.

I read a BVA case this morning whereby the VA tried every way they could to verify the veteran’s stressor. The veteran had re opened his past denied claim with a buddy letter.

For the first time the VA had credible evidence of the stressor, but the Buddy , in the same unit, at the same time, did not know the veteran until the veteran found him on a web site and contacted him. The buddy had heard of the incident ,yet could not provide an eyewitness account that both he and the veteran were there same time and same place.

 

And in the recent denial, the BVA stated they also  had past evidence from the veteran, that he had heard of the incident over the radio and was not at the actual scene of the stressor.

These types of claim fail.

A Buddy needs to prepare a detailed account of the incident ,putting the veteran claiming it as a stressor, at the scene of the incident. They can use a 21-4138 form to do that,which contains an oath or they can state an oath at the bottom of their buddy letter, similar to what is on the 21-4138:

“I CERTIFY THAT the statements on this form are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

9. SIGNATURE (Sign in ink) 10. DATE SIGNED (MM/DD/YYYY)”

https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-4138-ARE.pdf

 

They can get their statement notarized at their ban but that really isn’t needed, if they state the oath.

They need to give the VA their contact info, as the VA will often contact the buddy if they need more information.

This recent BVA award is a good example of what a valid buddy statement is:

 

"The Board has recharacterized the Veteran’s claim for insomnia more broadly to an acquired psychiatric disability, to include insomnia and PTSD, in order to clarify the nature of the benefit sought and ensure complete consideration of the claim. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5-6, 8 (2009).

 

“In the August 2019 Board decision, the Veteran’s claims were remanded for further development. The RO was requested to contact the Veteran to receive copies of two missing buddy statements and provide VA examinations. In November 2019, the RO contacted the Veteran for the two missing buddy statements, and these statements were obtained and associated with the claims file in December 2019. Also, VA examinations were conducted in January 2020 addressing the Veteran’s acquired psychiatric disorder. Thus, there has been substantial compliance with the Board’s remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998); Dyment v. West, 13 Vet. App. 141, 146-47 (1999).”

(Missing buddy statements….yeah right-----luckily the veteran had copies of them….)

“In the June 2017 Joint Services Research Records Center response, it was reported that the Veteran’s stationed ship deck logs do not document the ship at general quarters due to a boiler fire.

 

The Veteran provided two buddy statements. In the first buddy statement, M.R. stated he served with the Veteran on sea where they served as first responders on the ship’s Fire Brigade. M.R. stated that they experienced real and practice fire drills. In particular, M.R. stated the worse fire was the boiler explosion that happened beneath their sleeping area. After responding to the boiler explosion, M.R. stated that the first responders were scared because it was dark and hot, and they did not know if another explosion would occur while trying to exhaust the fire.

 

In the second buddy statement, T.G. stated he worked with the Veteran for about two years on the ship maintenance, Fire Team (First Response). T.G. stated that they had lots of practice and real fire drills, and this environment would get extreme during real fires. For instance, T.G. stated that during their first deployment a boiler exploded which was one of the worst because it was very dangerous.

 

The Veteran was afforded two VA examinations. First, in the March 2017 VA examination, the Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD and an unspecified sleep disorder. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s PTSD was at least as likely as not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event or illness. The VA examiner reasoned that the Veteran’s experiences on being confined in small spaces, on-deck experiences, being surrounded “by nothing but water,” and continuous loud noises have been associated with the development of PTSD meeting DSM-5 diagnostic severity levels during Desert Storm active combat.

Second, in the January 2020 VA examination, the Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s acquired psychiatric disorder was at least as likely as not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. The VA examiner reasoned that the Veteran had no mental health issues prior to service. Further, he now has clear PTSD symptoms as identified in the report which are related to the claimed in-service stressor—fire brigade trainings and intervention in a Navy ship boiler room fire. Thus, his symptoms meet DSM criteria for PTSD. 

 

Additionally, the VA examiner reasoned that the Veteran’s difficulties sleeping are related to his lack of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—not using a CPAP. The VA referenced that obesity/lack of exercise, and some sleep hygiene mismanagement are causes of his OSA. Overall, he does not qualify for a sleep disorder diagnosis and his sleep difficulties are not related to service.”

(two conflicting VA exams)

“A medical opinion based on a post-service examination of a veteran can be used to establish the occurrence of a stressor; however, the Board may consider and weigh this evidence in the context of the entire record. Menegassi v. Shinseki, 638 F.3d. 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2011). Based upon review of the evidence, the Board finds the March 2017 and January 2020 VA medical opinions are highly probative. Both VA medical opinions provided sufficient rationales that addressed the Veteran’s lay statements and were based on a complete review of the medical record. In conjunction, the Veteran’s buddy statements are credible in supporting his reported in-service stressor.

 

Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran’s PTSD, as confirmed by VA examiners, is due to his in-service stressor, and as such, service connection is warranted. Therefore, the Board resolves all doubt in his favor and finds that service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert, 1 Vet. App. at 49.”

https://www.va.gov/vetapp20/files4/20029589.txt

The claim was remanded in addition to the award for PTSD, for bilateral hearing loss.

This stuff outrages me-

I believe the buddy statements were missing on purpose-and I also believe the VA never even contacted JSRRC. I rest on over 30 years of personal experience to say that.

But it shows what a detailed buddy statement ( and two are better then one)can do to help a claim succeed.

There are probably many thousands of BVA cases in which the claim could have been resolved properly at the RO level.

That is why we must fully interpret what the VA lists as evidence- as obviously they had two buddy statements but probably completely ignored them.

The initial VA examiner gave a positive assessment of the veteran’s PTSD.

But without  proof of the stressor the 2^nd examiner could give a negative assessment.

This veteran however did not need to obtain a costly IMO to combat the negative PTSD exam- and it would not have helped him-

he needed instead the two buddy statements and he got them.

Buddy statements are far easier today with google and so many vet web sites, then they used to be.

I found a buddy for a vet here a few years ago within about 5 minutes of searching. But the buddy didnt remember him- I hope he searched for another buddy- they CAN be found----

Also a Navy Chaplain friend of mine called me with an unusual problem and needed to contact,ASAP, any chaplain on board a specific USN ship.

Within minutes via google , I got the ship's phone list and gave him the ship Chaplain's name and phone number.

About 20 minutes later he called me to tell me that all worked out and that he never gave it a thought that the ship chaplain could be contacted by phone and that the problem was being resolved very fast.

Google is wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Foxhound6]

Berta, great post! Id like to offer a couple buddy statements I used in my claims as an example. The redacted info I will explain in the post itself here.

 

The first is from a former NCO I had. It is a good example of a buddy statement you described in your post. The bottom redacted info lists all as you said. It identifies the individual by name, address, phone number, and email. It also describes the who, what, where, how and why of the event in the narrative.

 

The second is from my father. So, it is differently formatted than the VA form 4138. However, we included the "I CERTIFY THAT the statements on this form are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief" in it and had it notarized. It also provides the same information needed. Identifies the individual by name, address, phone number and email. I hope this is ok to post. Thanks for all you do!

 

SSG Signed VA_Redacted.pdf Dad Signed Statement_Redacted.pdf

[Buck52]

I'd like to add this

Incase you have problems contacting some of your unit Buddies.

You can also do this, if you can remember the location and date of the trauma event and can remember your unit commander name rank  they can check on this particular trauma event you mention  to check out your story, once it shows good merit  then that is good enough

\now I am not saying you will be approved but it will help substantiate your claim.

I did this  and also a retired senior rater for 30 plus years mention this.

 

Getting news paper articles may or may not help  because that don't put you at the scene  unless they mention you in the article.

if not then its just speculation  and speculation with the VA Won't fly.