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CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The Law II

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

A more extensive article on the recent case of Reilly v. OPM has already appeared in FedSmith.com, because it is an important step forward in Federal Disability Retirement Law.  Decided July 15, 2009 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, it topples another idol of a false standard imposed by OPM:  that medical documentation which is written by a doctor after a Federal or Postal employee is separated from Federal Service may be dismissed as being near-irrelevant in evaluating and reviewing a Federal disability retirement application. This has never made sense, since many medical conditions are progressive and degenerative in nature, and that is precisely what the Court in Reilly argues.  “The field of forensic medicine abounds with examples of subsequent medical examinations relevant to a prior condition,” the Court in Reilly argued, citing the classic example that “inferencesabout prior intoxication can be drawn from blood alcohol tests conducted at a later time.”  Further, where “proximity in time, lay testimony, or some other evidence provides the requisite link to the relevant period the subsequent evidence can be very probative of a prior disability.” Of course medical evidence gathered within the 1-year period after separation of service should be given probative value.  The Court in Reilly states that principle clearly.

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, Clarifications of Laws or Rules, Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time | Tagged: Administrative Law, atc disability retirement, california federal disability retirement, case law citation in federal disabilities cases, compensation for injury illness usdoj doj employees, CSRS disability attorney, disability retirement fers, disability retirement for injured Veterans Affairs employees, disability retirement from the USPS, doctor information to win a federal employee disability claim, document preparation and opm disability law, documentation for federal medical retirement, FAA Air Traffic Controllers, false standards in opm disability law, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, federal disability law and legal argumentation, federal disability law blog, federal medical retirement, FERS disability retirement, FERS medical retirement, guide to federal disability law, how to file a federal workers injury claim, importance of following up medical disability treatment, injured postal workers, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees disability retirement, interpretation of federal disability law, legal representation for injured federal workers, Medical Documentation for OPM Disability Retirement, medical documentation guidelines, medical examinations for opm disability, misinterpretation or misapplication of OPM disability law, MSPB Disability Retirement, one year separated from service opm rule, One-Year Statutory Timeframe, opm disability representative, OPM disability retirement, opm medical documentation after separation, owcp disability retirement really is usually meant "opm disability retirement", Post Office disability, Postal disability retirement, postal workers owcp rights attorney, relevance of medical documentation after one year, separated from service, statutory requirements in OPM disability law, Sylvia M. Reilly v. OPM, the latest trends in opm disability retirement, the Reilly case and what it means for future federal applicants, the Reilly case in opm disability retirement, the statutes and regulations of administrative law, updates on opm disability medical records, us postal service disability program, USPS disability retirement, when the OPM creates its own laws, when the opm uses laws that don't exist in fdr, workers comp federal employee | 1 Comment »

  • More on FERS Disability Retirement

    • eZineArticles.com Article: The 1 Year Statute of Limitations
    • Federal Disability Retirement Laws, Medical Conditions, and the Intersecting Complications with OWCP, Social Security and FERS & CSRS
    • Federal Disability Retirement: The Full Arsenal of Weapons
    • FedSmith.com Article: Revisiting "Accommodation"
    • FedSmith.com Article: Sometimes the Process is just as important as the Substance of an Argument
    • Latest PostalReporter.com Article: Causation in a Federal Disability Retirement Case
    • Understanding the Complexities of the Law
    • USPS Disability Blog: The National Reassessment Program, the Agency and the Worker
  • Other Resources for Federal and Postal Employees

    • Articles Published in the Postal Reporter
    • FAQs on OPM Disability Retirement
    • FERS Disability Attorney Profile at Lawyers.com
    • Main Website on Federal Disability Retirement
    • OPM Disability Blog
    • The Postal Service Disability Retirement Blog
  • Seven False Myths about OPM Disability Retirement

    1) I have to be totally disabled to get Postal or Federal disability retirement.
    False: You are eligible for disability retirement so long as you are unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of your job.  Thus, it is a much lower standard of disability. 

    2) My injury or illness has to be job-related.
    False: You can get disability even if your condition is not work related.  If your medical condition impacts your ability to perform any of the core elements of your job, you are eligible, regardless of how or where your condition occurred.

    3) I have to quit my federal job first to get disability.
    False: In most cases, you can apply while continuing to work at your present job, to the extent you are able.  

    4) I can't get disability if I suffer from a mental or nervous condition.
    False: If your condition affects your job performance, you can still qualify. Psychiatric conditions are treated no differently from physical conditions.

    5) Disability retirement is approved by DOL Workers Comp.
    False: It's the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the federal agency that administers and approves disability for employees at the US Postal Service or other federal agencies.

    6) I can wait for OPM disability retirement for many years after separation.
    False: You only have one year from the date of separation from service - otherwise, you lose your right forever.

    7) If I get disability retirement, I won't be able to apply for Scheduled Award (SA).
    False: You can get a Scheduled Award under the rules of OWCP even after you get approved for OPM disability retirement.
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