The credibility of the Applicant’s Statement of Disability (Standard Form 3112A both for FERS & CSRS employees) is crucial to obtaining an approval for a Federal Disability Retirement application. Remember, first and foremost, that the personal pronoun “I” is being used — and should be used. As such, one’s integrity and personal credibility is put to the issue.
While descriptive delineations of one’s symptoms are important, with appropriate adjectives to convey the extent of the subjective symptomatologies experienced, remember that exaggeration is the undermining element which can unravel a Federal Disability Retirement application, and ultimately reflect with harm upon one’s integrity and credibility.
Truth should always be the guiding principle; but perspectives are accepted in the conveying of such truth. Remember that Pontius Pilate asked the famous question, “What is Truth”? In asking the question, he never stopped to consider the answer; instead, he asked it in a rhetorical fashion, without regard to the truth.
Truth is important; being truthful is essential; and beyond this, correspondence of truth with the medical records and reports is the coherent package which will win in a disability retirement packet.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
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