How to write your Statement in Support of Claim (VA Form 21-4138)

A personal or lay statement (VA Form 21-4138) is your own first-person account of your condition — how it started, your symptoms, and how they affect daily life and work. You are competent to describe what you personally see, feel, and experience, even without medical training. It fills the gaps records miss — the bad days, the things you can no longer do — and can be powerful evidence for pain, fatigue, and mental-health impact that don't show on a scan.

What to cover

• What happened in service, and roughly when and where, that started this.
• Your symptoms: what a flare-up actually feels like, how often, how long.
• A worst day vs a typical day.
• How it limits your work and daily life, with concrete examples.

You are competent to describe what you personally see, feel, and experience, even without medical training. A buddy / lay statement from someone who witnessed it (VA Form 21-10210) adds weight.