OPM is always looking for a motive. It is like they are criminal prosecutors at the Justice Department, trying to always find some nefarious reasons as to why a Federal or Postal employee is filing a Federal Disability Retirement application.
Take, for example, one recent case which comes to mind: An individual was filing for Federal Disability Retirement application. The Applicant’s spouse traveled a lot, and so the applicant had to switch doctors often. The applicant had his/her brother oversee the medical treatment because of the lack of continuity in medical care. When it came time to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the brother wrote the medical report.
The case went before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board and, within the Agency File were a series of emails sent between OPM Medical Specialists questioning whether this was a “fraud” case and expressing suspicions over why the applicant’s “brother” would be writing a medical report, etc. At the Hearing of the case, of course, the brother — a medical doctor of longstanding stature — testified up front and bluntly: Yes, I am the brother of X, and I oversee the treatment regimens because of the lack of continuity of care, etc. Factual, straightforward, nothing to hide. But not for OPM, who is always looking for nefarious motivations and making innuendoes even though there is no basis for it.
Contact an OPM Disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and counter the suspicious and unfounded innuendoes which OPM is apt to make — even in those cases where there is a simple and straightforward explanation, if only OPM would listen.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
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The Physicians and the Substance of a Federal Disability Retirement Case
Ultimately, the essence of any claim, endeavor, vocation or activity possesses a characteristic “essence” of a matter — that which defines itself, reveals its core value, and manifests the substantive content of what X “is” as opposed to the accidental and peripheral appearances which can throw one off from the central enigma of that which we seek to unravel.
That is the defining history of Western Philosophy; it is what Plato began in inquiring about the differences between Forms and appearances; what Aristotle did in rolling his sleeves up and getting down to the serious work of scientifically approaching the world through observation and keen perspective; and in more modern times, it is encapsulated by the work of Heidegger, who viewed every being as an encounter to unmask in the experiential sequel learned from his master, Edmund Husserl and the school of phenomenology.
The History of Philosophy has since been one of loss of stature, as all of the subsciences have taken on their prominent roles and fractured apart from the umbrella of philosophy. Psychology, Anthropology, Physics, Theology — they have all found and formed their own mouthpieces.
Medicine and the physicians who represent the discipline of the medical community have a unique and enduring perspective; it has now become defined by an approach of pharmacology and surgery, prompting alternative movements of holistic endeavors. But until a time in a distant future which accepts “other” approaches, it is the physician with an “M.D.”, “D.O.”, or other such designation, which will be necessary in the acceptable community of opinions and judgments. Yes, Chiropractic care, Physical Therapists, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists and LCSWs can help to prove a case; but the central focus of authoritative acceptance still comes primarily from that guy or girl who went to “medical school”.
For the Federal and Postal employee who seeks to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, the core of one’s case must be based upon a view towards the examiner, reviewer, or “Administrative Specialist” as designated by OPM, and what that individual will accept as the authoritative basis of a viable Federal Disability Retirement case. This is a world where the word of the physician is paramount; and those in the communities of subsets can certainly lend authoritative support; but it is always a mistake to confuse the outpost for the headquarters.
In a viable OPM Disability Retirement application, it is important to obtain the opinion and support of that which will provide the essence of authoritative support, to the greatest extent possible. What opinion to seek; how the narrative opinion is characterized; who provides it; and what the substantive content will state — all will make a difference in preparing and formulating a Federal Disability Retirement application, and its proper presentation to the authorities at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
While the “enemy” may attack and destroy the perimeters and outposts, until the neurological center of an organism is defeated, all such efforts are destined to fail.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
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