FERS and CSRS disability retirement applicants are especially “vulnerable” because of the inherently precarious financial situation that an applicant often finds him/herself in, and often desperate need for an approval from the Office of Personnel Management. Most of the cases that I represent are approved at the First Stage; upon a denial, however, it is necessary to go to the Second Stage, or the “Request for Reconsideration Stage.” An invidiual has 30 days from the date of the denial letter to file a request for reconsideration, then another 30 days to obtain and suibmit additional medical and supporting documentation.
If it is denied a second time, then an applicant has a right to file an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). While the MSPB will hear the case de novo (meaning, “anew” without consideration of OPM’s prior decisions), neverthess, it is important to look upon a disability retirement case as a “case in progress”, and that is why hiring an attorney at the outset is often important. While most “mistakes” made by an applicant are minor and correctable, everything that is submitted — the applicant’s statement, any records or reports submitted — become part of the record as a whole and cannot be retracted or erased. That is why a thorough review by a competent attorney is important in filing for disability retirement.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Applicant, OPM Disability Process, OPM Disability Process - 2nd Stage: OPM Reconsideration Stage, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), When the OPM Application Is Denied | Tagged: an attorney who will represent you during the mspb hearing, avoiding a mistake in the opm disability medical narrative, civil service disability, civil service disability retirement, disabilityretirement, federal disability attorney, federal disability lawyer, federal employee disability, federal medical retirement, FERS Disability, fers disability mistakes, fers disability retirement law and mistakes that can't be corrected, financial consideration before and after the fers disability application, financial survival while waiting for opm disability decision, fixing clients mistakes in an opm disability claim, how long to appeal an opm disability application denial?, medical records submitted can not be retracted, Merit Systems Protection Board and OPM disability, MSPB disability attorney, MSPB disability lawyer, MSPB Petition for Review, MSPB Third Stage, OPM disability attorney, OPM disability lawyer, OPM disability retirement, OPM First Stage Disability Application, OPM Reconsideration Stage, Postal disability, to be financially and psychologically ready for the process |
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