Marines train for the toughest environments on earth, but no amount of preparation fully shields the mind and body from the toll that combat takes. Years after discharge, Veterans sometimes find themselves dealing with chronic pain, persistent nightmares, ringing ears, or symptoms they can’t quite name. The connection to service feels obvious to them, but the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doesn’t always see it that way.
The gap between what Marines go through and what the VA officially recognizes is exactly where experienced legal support can make a difference. The Law Office of Sean Kendall helps Veterans across the country pursue unemployability claims, including for some of the most common and most contested combat-related conditions Marines face. Filing for VA benefits isn’t just paperwork; it’s a continuation of the fight. You served—now contact our attorneys to help you get the benefits you earned.
What Does Combat Impact a Marine’s Body?
Combat exposure can have wide-ranging effects on the body, often due to intense, prolonged physical activity.
Musculoskeletal Injuries and Chronic Pain
Marines carry heavy loads across unforgiving terrain for months or years at a time. The wear on joints, spine, and soft tissue is cumulative and often permanent. Lower back disabilities and cervical spine injuries rank among the most prevalent service-connected conditions in the Veteran population, and Marines, given the physical demands of service, are disproportionately represented in those numbers.
Timing is what makes these claims challenging. You may not feel the full impact of a knee injury or spinal condition until years after separation. The VA requires proof that the current condition is connected to a service-related event or exposure, which means documentation and medical nexus opinions are crucial. Without them, the VA could deny your claim.
Hearing Loss and Tinnitus
Exposure to gunfire, explosions, heavy machinery, and aircraft noise is a constant of Marine combat deployments. Hearing loss and tinnitus—a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears—are consistently among the top service-connected disabilities awarded by the VA, yet many Marines never file for them because they assume the problem is minor or unprovable. Neither assumption is true. Audiological evidence and service records connecting a Veteran to noise-hazardous environments can support a strong claim.
How Does Combat Affect Mental Health?
Marines are physically and mentally tough, but even Veterans with strong mental fortitude can experience the mental health effects of combat.
PTSD in the Marine Corps
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) isn’t a weakness: it’s a documented physiological response to trauma. Marines who have experienced direct combat, witnessed casualties, or operated in sustained high-threat environments are at elevated risk. Symptoms may include sleep disruption, hypervigilance, emotional withdrawal, and difficulty functioning in civilian life.
The VA rates PTSD based on how much the condition impairs daily living and occupational function. Underreporting remains a serious problem among Marines, many of whom minimized symptoms during service or were discouraged from seeking help. If your symptoms have progressed since discharge, or if the VA denied an earlier claim or rated it too low, you can appeal or reopen the case.
Traumatic Brain Injury
TBI is a signature wound of the post-9/11 era. Blast exposure from IEDs, mortar rounds, and other explosive devices can cause neurological damage, affecting memory, concentration, mood regulation, and physical function. Many TBI cases go undiagnosed because the symptoms overlap with PTSD, and Veterans may not connect their cognitive difficulties to a specific incident from years earlier.
The VA evaluates TBI using a separate rating system that considers the range of residual symptoms. Getting this diagnosis documented and properly rated often requires a thorough neurological evaluation and, sometimes, a fight with the VA’s own examination process.
What About Conditions Caused by Burn Pit Exposure?
Signed in 2022, the PACT Act significantly expanded VA health care eligibility and disability coverage for Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. Marines who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, or other Southwest Asia locations were frequently stationed near open-air burn pits used to incinerate waste, chemicals, and other materials. Long-term health consequences can include:
- Respiratory conditions. Research directly links constrictive bronchiolitis, reactive airway disease, and other chronic lung conditions to burn pit exposure. Veterans with breathing difficulties who served near these sites may qualify for presumptive service connection.
- Certain cancers. The PACT Act established a list of presumptive cancers connected to toxic exposure, meaning you no longer have to prove a direct link; only that you served in the relevant locations during the relevant periods.
- Neurological symptoms. Some Veterans report cognitive decline, chronic headaches, and nerve-related symptoms following sustained exposure to burn pit smoke.
Many eligible Marines have not yet filed claims under the expanded PACT Act framework. The window for benefits exists, but it requires action.
Why Marines Often Don't File—And What Gets in the Way
The barriers to filing are real and often underestimated. Some Marines assume their symptoms aren’t severe enough to qualify. Others filed years ago, received denials, and gave up. Many don’t know what conditions they can connect to service even when symptoms emerge years or decades after discharge. Additionally, the VA claims process itself, with its dense forms, medical examinations, and rating decisions, can feel designed to discourage rather than assist.
At The Law Offices of Sean Kendall, our experienced team has helped thousands of service men and women overcome common obstacles such as:
- Lack of service records. Incomplete or lost military records make it harder to establish the in-service events that caused a condition. This is where legal support and expert witnesses become essential.
- Low initial ratings. The VA may acknowledge a condition but assign a rating that doesn’t reflect its actual severity. You have the right to appeal these decisions.
- Denied nexus opinions. VA-ordered medical examinations are not always thorough or favorable. An independent medical opinion can challenge an inadequate VA exam.
- Missed secondary conditions. A service-connected injury often leads to additional conditions. For example, chronic pain leading to depression, or a spinal injury causing radiculopathy. These secondary conditions may also be ratable.
What VA Benefits May Be Available to Marines
The VA pays disability compensation monthly based on a combined disability rating expressed as a percentage. Marines with multiple service-connected conditions can receive combined ratings that reflect total impairment. For Veterans whose service-connected conditions prevent them from working, a 100 percent rating—including Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU)—may be appropriate.
Beyond monthly compensation, a service-connected Veterans may qualify for VA-supported benefits including, but not limited to:
- Health care
- Adaptive housing and vehicle grants
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Survivor benefits
The full scope of available benefits depends on your rating, the nature of the conditions, and your circumstances, which is why case-specific evaluation matters.
Why Will Legal Support Change Outcomes in VA Claims?
The VA built its system on good intentions, but its track record with combat Veterans—particularly Marines filing for PTSD, TBI, and toxic exposure—tells a more complicated story. Denied claims, inadequate ratings, and years-long backlogs are common. Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, has handled Veterans’ appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims since the court’s founding, including precedent-setting cases that have shaped how the law protects Veterans. That depth of experience matters when a claim reaches the appellate level.
What sets our firm apart is the combination of legal knowledge and strategic preparation that goes into every case. Sean has built a network of expert witnesses—including medical professionals and specialists—whose testimony has helped his clients win claims worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. When the VA's own examinations fall short or a rating decision doesn't reflect a Veteran's true condition, having the right expert in your corner can change the outcome entirely.
If you believe that the VA wrongly denied your claim—or that your ratings don’t accurately reflect your condition—you have options. The Law Office of Sean Kendall provides free legal consultations for Veterans nationwide and handles claims at every stage of the process, from initial filings to federal court appeals.
