# The Claim Evidence Organizer **An organizing and preparation aid for veterans getting ready to work with a VSO.** --- ## Limits: Read This First This file is not legal advice. It is not medical advice. It does not predict a rating or guarantee any outcome. It does not represent you in any proceeding. A nexus opinion connecting a condition to your service must come from a licensed clinician, not from a prompt or an AI tool. Filing a claim and being represented before the VA goes through an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO), claims agent, or VA-accredited attorney under 38 CFR Part 14. A VSO will help you file an initial claim at no cost to you. Find one through your state VSO office, the American Legion, DAV, VFW, or the VA's own VSO directory. If you are in crisis right now: call or text 988, then press 1. The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day. --- ## What This Is This is a prompt-chain guide. You run each step in your AI tool of choice. Each step produces a draft you own and can edit. When you are done, you bring the result to an accredited VSO, not to the VA counter on your own if you can help it. The goal is simple: arrive at your VSO appointment organized, honest, and ready to ask good questions. --- ## Step 1: Inventory Your Conditions Run this prompt. Fill in the bracketed parts with your own words. Do not exaggerate. Do not leave out a condition because you think it is minor. ``` I am a veteran preparing to meet with an accredited VSO. Help me build a plain, honest list of the service-connected conditions I want to address. For each condition, I will tell you: - The name I use for it (medical name if I know it, plain description if I do not) - When it started or when I first noticed it - Whether it started during service or got worse during service - How it affects me today in plain terms Here are my conditions: Condition 1: [Name or description] - Onset: [When did this start or when did you first notice it?] - Service connection: [Did it start during service, get worse during service, or are you unsure?] - Current impact: [How does it affect your daily life, work, sleep, relationships?] Condition 2: [Name or description] - Onset: [When did this start or when did you first notice it?] - Service connection: [Did it start during service, get worse during service, or are you unsure?] - Current impact: [How does it affect your daily life, work, sleep, relationships?] [Add more conditions using the same format.] Organize this into a clean condition list I can bring to my VSO. Use my words. Do not add conditions I did not mention. Do not predict any rating. ``` **What to do with the output:** Read it carefully. Correct anything that is wrong. Add anything you left out. This list drives every step that follows. --- ## Step 2: Map Evidence to Each Condition Run this prompt with the condition list from Step 1 pasted in. ``` I have a list of conditions I want to address in a VA claim. For each condition, help me map the types of evidence that commonly support it. Do not invent evidence. Do not suggest I have a diagnosis I have not received. Do not write a nexus opinion. A nexus opinion must come from a licensed clinician. For each condition, list the following evidence types and mark whether I already have it, need to get it, or am unsure: Evidence types to check: 1. Service treatment records (STRs) showing the condition during service 2. Post-service VA treatment records mentioning the condition 3. Post-service private treatment records mentioning the condition 4. A current diagnosis from a licensed clinician 5. A nexus opinion from a licensed clinician (connecting the condition to service) 6. Lay statement from me (a personal statement in my own words) 7. Buddy statements from people who witnessed the condition or its impact 8. Other relevant records: [list any you know of, such as incident reports, line of duty determinations, deployment records] Here are my conditions: [Paste your condition list from Step 1 here.] For each condition, produce a simple table or list showing each evidence type and my status: Have it / Need to get it / Unsure. ``` **What to do with the output:** Go through it condition by condition. Mark anything that is wrong. Note the gaps. Those gaps are what you ask your VSO about. --- ## Step 3: Build the Document Checklist Run this prompt with the evidence map from Step 2 pasted in. ``` I have an evidence map for my VA claim conditions. Turn it into a practical gather-list: what I need to get, and where to request it. For each item I marked as "Need to get it" or "Unsure," tell me: - What the document is called - Where I request it (specific office, form number if known, or process) - Any notes on timing or access Use plain language. Do not predict what any document will show. Do not suggest I will or will not qualify for anything. Here is my evidence map: [Paste your evidence map from Step 2 here.] ``` **What to do with the output:** This becomes your action list before the VSO appointment. Work through it. Bring what you have gathered to the appointment. Bring the list of what you still need so your VSO can advise you on next steps. Common request sources for reference: - Service treatment records: National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) via VA Form 180 or the milConnect portal - VA treatment records: Request through MyHealtheVet or at your local VA facility - Private treatment records: Request directly from the provider or facility; you may need to sign a release - Buddy statements: Ask the person to write one in their own words; VA Form 21-10210 is the buddy statement form - Your own lay statement: VA Form 21-4142 or a written personal statement; your VSO can help you format it --- ## Step 4: Prepare for the VSO Run this prompt with your condition list, evidence map, and document checklist all pasted in. ``` I am preparing for an appointment with an accredited VSO. Help me build two things: 1. A one-page summary of my situation to hand the VSO at the start of the meeting. Include: my conditions, the evidence I have, the evidence I still need, and any known gaps. Keep it factual and brief. No ratings. No predictions. 2. A list of questions to ask the VSO. Include questions about: gaps in my evidence, whether a nexus opinion is needed and how to get one, the order in which to file conditions, anything else that would help an accredited VSO advise me. Do not predict outcomes. Do not recommend filing strategy beyond flagging gaps. That advice belongs to my VSO. Here is my information: Condition list: [Paste from Step 1] Evidence map: [Paste from Step 2] Document checklist: [Paste from Step 3] ``` **What to do with the output:** Print or save the one-page summary. Bring it to the appointment along with whatever documents you have gathered. Let your VSO lead. Ask your questions. Take notes. --- ## Final Honesty and Privacy Pass Before you bring anything to your VSO, run through this checklist yourself. ``` Review everything I have produced in Steps 1 through 4 and confirm the following: 1. Every condition listed is real and is mine. 2. Every piece of evidence listed is something I actually have or know exists. 3. I have not exaggerated any symptom or impact. 4. No document in this package predicts a rating or guarantees an outcome. 5. No nexus opinion was written here. I understand a nexus opinion must come from a licensed clinician. 6. My Social Security number and VA file number do not appear anywhere in this material. 7. The next step is to bring this to an accredited VSO, not to file on my own without advice. Flag anything that does not meet these checks. Do not soften or spin anything. Just flag it plainly. Here is the full package: [Paste all output from Steps 1 through 4] ``` Fix anything that gets flagged. Then go to your VSO appointment. --- ## Finding an Accredited VSO - VA VSO directory: va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp - Disabled American Veterans (DAV): dav.org - American Legion: legion.org - Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW): vfw.org - State veterans affairs offices: search your state name plus "department of veterans affairs" A VSO represents you before the VA at no charge for an initial claim. --- Part of The VA & Benefits Navigator Library at vetslearn.com/libraries/va