Reviewing medical documentation often involves a discretionary determination in preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS. Relevant documentation should be filed as an attachment in support of an OPM Disability Retirement application; sometimes, medical reports, notes and records which are from specialists or referral doctors, contain information which is helpful, irrelevant, or detrimental to an application, and determinations as to whether to file it or not is a matter of discretion.
It is the responsibility of the Federal or Postal employee to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one is entitled and eligible for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS. Meeting the criteria of eligibility is a matter of some latitude; determining what evidence to include involves a certain amount of discretion; in either case, one must affirmatively prove one’s case.
Thus, FMLA paperwork previously completed by the doctor may have addressed a particular issue for a specific timeframe; OWCP forms previously filled out by the doctor may pertain more to a particular time-period or for the issue of causation, etc. In the totality of the picture of one’s history of medical conditions, one must utilize a discretionary sense of wisdom in determining which medical evidence will be helpful, and which may potentially hinder. It is never an exact science; but then, science itself is no longer an exacting endeavor.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Disability Retirement, Et Cetera… 