# VA Claim Personal Statement Draft

Helps you draft your own factual personal statement for a VA disability claim in your own words, organized around what you actually experienced. Take the draft to an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) before submitting anything to the VA.

## Prompt

## Context
You are helping [YOUR NAME], a veteran, draft a personal statement (also called a lay statement or buddy statement for yourself) to support a VA disability claim for [CONDITION OR CONDITIONS]. This statement is in the veteran's own words and describes their own experience. It is not a medical opinion and does not represent them legally. The veteran's account: [YOUR ACCOUNT, describe in your own words when the condition started, what you experienced in service, how it affects you now in daily life and work, and any events you believe are connected]. Service branch and approximate dates of service: [BRANCH AND SERVICE DATES]. Military occupational specialty or role: [MOS OR ROLE].

## Task
Draft a personal statement organized into four sections:
1. Introduction: who the veteran is and what condition they are describing.
2. In-service account: when and where the condition started or the event occurred, in the veteran's words as provided.
3. Current impact: how the condition affects daily life, work, sleep, or relationships, as the veteran described.
4. Connection statement: a plain statement that in the veteran's opinion these in-service events or exposures are connected to the current condition.

## Standards
- Write only what the veteran described. Do not add symptoms, diagnoses, or exposures the veteran did not mention.
- Do not invent events, dates, locations, or medical facts.
- Do not claim a diagnosis the veteran did not state. Describe symptoms and functional impact in plain language, not clinical terms the veteran did not use.
- Do not exaggerate severity. Write what the veteran actually said.
- Do not imply this statement constitutes legal representation. The veteran represents themselves in this statement.
- This draft is for the veteran's own use. Tell the veteran to review it carefully, correct anything that does not accurately reflect their experience, and take it to an accredited VSO before submitting.
- VA claim preparation and representation are regulated under 38 CFR. An accredited VSO or accredited attorney can help at no cost for initial claims. No one may charge a fee for initial claim preparation.
- If [YOUR ACCOUNT] is missing or too vague to write a meaningful statement, ask for more detail before drafting.

## Variables

- YOUR NAME
- CONDITION OR CONDITIONS
- YOUR ACCOUNT
- BRANCH AND SERVICE DATES
- MOS OR ROLE

## Input checklist

- [ ] Write your account in your own words first, before running the prompt. The AI organizes and drafts what you provide, it does not invent your story.
- [ ] Include: when the condition started, what happened in service, and how it affects you now. Be specific about what you actually experienced.
- [ ] Do not include your Social Security number, claim number, or sensitive personal identifiers. Remove them before pasting any document. Never paste classified or operationally sensitive details.
- [ ] Verify eligibility, submission requirements, and the claims process with an accredited VSO before filing. VSO representation for initial claims is free.
- [ ] Review the draft carefully before taking it to your VSO. Correct anything that does not match your actual experience.
- [ ] Remember: this is your statement in your words. The AI drafts structure, not medical or legal opinions.

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Read every sentence: does it reflect what you actually said, or did the AI add something you did not describe?
- [ ] Check for invented symptoms, dates, locations, or exposures you did not provide. Remove any that appear.
- [ ] Confirm no clinical diagnosis appears that you did not name. Lay statements describe symptoms and impact, not diagnoses.
- [ ] Check the in-service account: are the events and timeline accurate to your memory and your records?
- [ ] Confirm the connection statement does not overreach. It is your opinion that events are connected, not a medical conclusion.
- [ ] Do not submit this draft to the VA without reviewing it with an accredited VSO, claims agent, or attorney.
- [ ] Do not pay anyone to prepare your initial VA claim. Accredited VSO representation is free.

## Sample output

Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:

Veteran: Dana Reyes. Condition: left knee pain. Account provided: I hurt my left knee during a training exercise in 2019 at Camp Lejeune. I was a hospital corpsman running a tactical casualty care training course. I slipped on a wet surface while carrying a litter with a training casualty and fell on my left knee. I went to sick call the next day and they told me it was a sprain. I never had any follow-up. Since I got out in 2022 my knee swells when I stand for more than an hour and I have to take stairs one at a time. I cannot do the physical job I want to do in emergency services because of it. Branch: Navy, 2016 to 2022. Role: Hospital Corpsman (HM).

Personal Statement of Dana Reyes
In Support of VA Disability Claim: Left Knee Condition

Introduction
I am Dana Reyes. I served in the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman (HM) from 2016 to 2022. This statement describes my left knee condition, how it started during my service, and how it affects me today.

In-Service Account
In 2019, while assigned at Camp Lejeune, I was running a tactical casualty care training course. During the training, I slipped on a wet surface while carrying a litter with a training casualty. I fell onto my left knee. I reported to sick call the following day. I was told it was a sprain. I did not receive follow-up treatment beyond that visit.

Current Impact
Since separating in 2022, my left knee has continued to give me problems. It swells when I stand for more than approximately one hour. I have to take stairs one step at a time because of the pain and instability. The condition has limited my ability to pursue work in emergency services, which requires physical mobility I no longer have reliably.

Connection
In my opinion, the knee condition I experience today is connected to the fall I described above during my service at Camp Lejeune in 2019. I had no prior knee problems before that incident.

Note: This is my personal statement in my own words. I reviewed this draft and confirm it accurately reflects my experience. I will take this to an accredited VSO before submitting it to the VA.

## Customization notes

Run this prompt once per condition, not for all conditions at once. Focused statements are clearer and easier for reviewers to follow. If you have buddy statements from fellow service members who witnessed the event, note that in your account so your VSO can advise on gathering them. For conditions related to military sexual trauma (MST), mental health, or toxic exposure, your VSO can advise on additional evidence and presumptive conditions. Do not rely on this prompt alone for those claims.

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From The Military Transition & SkillBridge Library at vetslearn.com/libraries/transition