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    • Accommodation and Light Duty (40)
    • Advantages of Federal Disability Retirement (27)
    • Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions (44)
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    • Evaluation Of Your OPM Disability Claim – How Do I Know If I Have A Strong Case? (18)
    • Fables, Stories and Analogies about CSRS and FERS Medical Retirement Benefits (79)
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    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
    • Life after Federal Disability Retirement (21)
    • LWOP and Sick Leave in OPM Disability (12)
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CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The Proper Focus of the Attorney

Posted on September 12, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

Have you heard of the fable about the general who led a vast and unstoppable army, with multitudes of foot soldiers, artillery, supply lines, a vast ocean of destructive power — who stopped to console a woman who had lost her son to an illness?  He failed to lead his army, and as a consequence, his vast and seemingly indestructible army was devastated in a battle which should have been a lopsided victory for the general of whom we speak.  What is the point of that fable?  It is that we all have our duties and responsibilities, and while the moral compass of the general was certainly “not inappropriate” (note the double negative) — but the timing was inappropriate.  Why was the timing inappropriate?  Because the general had other more pressing duties and responsibilities to attend to. Thus, it is important in speaking about the proper role of individuals, to always point to both content, as well as context.  The general’s job was to lead his army; the fact that he had empathy for a woman who had lost her son, is commendable — but not in the context of needing to lead his men into battle. 

This is important to understand in the context of a client and his or her attorney; remember that the attorney’s role is to win the case; and while empathy for the client’s personal situation and, in the case of Federal Disability Retirements under FERS & CSRS, it is important for the attorney to understand the “human story” of the medical condition, the impact of such medical conditions, and how they prevent one from performing the essential elements of one’s job, remember that the primary focus of the Federal Disability Retirement attorney is, and always should be, upon applying the applicable law, and to win the case.  It is the Attorney’s job to keep the client’s focus upon those issues which will help him win the case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Attorney, Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer, The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney | Tagged: a story of human suffering behind an opm disability application, an emotional vs. reasoned personal account of disability, building your fers disability foundations over rock, careful walking in the path toward federal disability retirement, civil service disability retirement, complex issues and problems during the opm disability process, complex issues surrounding a fers disability application, disability retirement for postal clerks, federal disability lawyers not immune to emotional issues, fers disability benefits, focusing on medical substantive issues not emotional problems, focusing on the direct issues, harassment is not a medical issue, important issues to opm disability annuitants, lawyer role in federal disability cases, medical issues for a federal employee, nationwide representation of federal employees, owcp medical retirement, planning your opm disability strategy from the beginning, Postal disability retirement, postal service disability retirement, procuring entitlement to federal disability retirement annuity, representing federal employees from any us government agency, strategists for a good opm disability application, texas opm disability retirement, the attorney's role during the opm disability process, the fine balance between rational and emotional factors, the functions of an attorney and the injured federal employee, the human side of a disability story, the job of a federal disability retirement attorney, the process of getting and securing federal employees disability, the proper role of a lawyer and of a trained therapist, understanding the human story of the medical condition, using an attorney in federal disability retirement cases, USPS disability retirement benefits, when the client wants the lawyer to be a therapist, working on a disability claim and getting your claim approved, your priorities during the fers disability process | Leave a 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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  • Top Posts

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    • Medical Separation and Retirement under FERS or CSRS: The nose beyond which
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