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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)
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CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The Attorney’s Role

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

It may sound harsh; it may even sound “mean”; but I often tell my potential clients that I am not their therapist, doctor, or empathy-advisor.  I am their attorney.  When advising people to respond to an Office of Personnel Management denial with some “discretion”, it is often difficult for an individual who is so closely tied with his or her own case, to remain objective and detached.  Yet, detachment is the mark of professionalism, and that is why the old adage is true — that an individual who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. 

My job as an attorney who represents Federal and Postal employees to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS must be guided with a focus of understanding the factual context, the medical conditions, the type of job, the symptomatologies manifested by the medical conditions, and apply the law governing disability retirement issues.  If I become a therapist, it detracts from my focus; if I become an empathy-advisor, I become “attached”, as opposed to de-tached.  That is not to say that I will not listen to the relevant medical background (note the confusing double-negative, which merely means that yes, I will listen, to some extent) — I certainly will.  But only to the extent that will allow me to win the case for my client.  For, that is my job:  to get an approval from the Office of Personnel Management.  If I am successful at that, then my client will have gained all the needed empathy of the world:  a semblence of financial security.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Applicant, OPM Disability Actors - The Attorney, Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer, The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney | Tagged: addressing the reason for OPM denial, an emotional vs. reasoned personal account of disability, An employee appealing OPM's denial, an injured postal worker can always get an "early out" retirement, anger over the opm disability benefits denial, best legal representation for disabled usps postal workers, controlling anger and disappointment after opm disability denial, criteria of a good opm disability attorney, deciding if you need an opm disability attorney of a stress therapist, detachment when dealing with an csrs disability lawyer, disability law opm attorney helping federal workers across the usa, early out for disabled postal workers with application, early out option for injured postal workers available but not authomatic, federal compensation for federal workers with disability denial, federal disability lawyers not immune to emotional issues, federal government medical disability, federal government medical retirement, federal lawyer defending rehab postal workers, FERS disability retirement, fighting to get federal government disability, focusing on medical substantive issues not emotional problems, focusing on the substantive issues of an opm denial letter, focusing on winning a fers disability case not to winning empathy, human emotions, if disabled postal employees need an "early out", if the postal worker is denied opm disability benefits, if you are denied worker employment benefits in the usps, Keeping Emotionalism to a Minimum, keeping emotions under control will help an opm disability applicant, legal help after first application denial, legal resources of injured federal worker other than workers comp, medical disability from the post office, nationwide representation of federal employees, OPM disability retirement, Postal Service disability, postal service disability attorney, the attorney client relationship in establishing a fers disability claim, the attorney's role during the opm disability process, The Denial at the First Stage, the denial disability letter issued by the opm, the fine balance between rational and emotional factors, the functions of an attorney and the injured federal employee, the job of a federal disability retirement attorney, the opm disability attorney and federal worker client relationship, the proper role of a lawyer and of a trained therapist, the relevant medical information in opm disability, using an attorney in federal disability retirement cases, usps denial of injury compensation, USPS disability retirement, voluntary early retirement for ill or injured usps workers, What criteria should I use to choose a good Federal Disability Attorney?, when the client wants the lawyer to be a therapist, when the federal owcp workers comp denies your claim, winning your federal disability retirement not your sympathy | 1 Comment »

  • More on CSRS & 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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  • Archives

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