Alas, a batch of decisions has obviously been sent out to many disability retirement applicants in the last couple of weeks, because I have gotten many calls from those who attempted to try and obtain disability retirement benefits without legal representation. In reviewing the denial decision from the Office of Personnel Management, many who have called have observed some rather amusing things, such as: “It seems like most of the decision is just boilerplate language”; “There were so many typos and grammatical errors in the decision”; “The OPM specialist referred to a doctor whom I never treated with”; “The decision said that I suffered from medical condition X, which I never claimed!” “To err is human…” is a true enough adage; but to point out the mistakes of an OPM decision for the sake of pointing out the mistakes, is a pointless exercise.
Do not fret; yes, much of the language of a decision is indeed boilerplate; OPM representatives are human, and do indeed make mistakes, and insert names of doctors and medical conditions which are not part of an applicant’s narrative; and other mistakes as well. But don’t overlook the obvious by fuming about such mistakes: if your disability application was denied, you need to take the decision seriously, identify the substantive issues which were the primary basis for the denial; ignore the tangential errors made; then proceed to address the concerns brought to light by the Office of Personnel Management. Time is of the essence, and those 30 days to file for reconsideration, and the additional 30 days given to obtain further medical documentation, come and go quickly. Don’t fume about irrelevant details; focus upon strategizing a substantive approach to getting your disability retirement application reconsidered, and approved.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Process - 2nd Stage: OPM Reconsideration Stage, When the OPM Application Is Denied | Tagged: addressing the reason for OPM denial, appeal to first OPM denial decision, applying for federal disability, attempting opm disability without representation, attorney for US government employees, civil service disability, civil service disability retirement, disability retirement fers, disability retirement opm, federal court decisions in OPM disability cases, federal disability attorney's advice, federal employee disability, Federal Employees Disability System South Carolina, federal government disability, federal injured ill workers, FERS medical retirement, focusing on the substantive issues of an opm denial letter, getting OPM disability benefits, how to get the most of an opm denial letter, injured postal worker, meeting an appeal deadline, nationwide representation of federal employees, OPM clerks, opm denial letter templates and the essence of the denial, OPM disability application tips, OPM disability retirement, opm disability retirement in the northern mariana islands, OPM Reconsideration Stage, OPM Reconsideration Stage in federal disability retirem, pragmatic methodology, representing federal employees in and outside the country, Robert R. McGill, statutory requirements in OPM disability law, the applicant's methodology, the dreaded denial letter, time limit to appeal an OPM decision, time limit to appeal an OPM disability denial, USPS disability retirement, usps medical disability, what to do when the OPM rejects application, when opm disability retirement is denied, when the federal disability application is rejected, when the opm representative reviews your disability application |
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