While the issue of ‘causality’ is not one which often comes up in OPM disability retirement cases (by obvious contrast, of course, is the fact that causality, whether it was caused while working, on the way to work, outside of the parameters of work, etc, is often an issue in OWCP/DOL cases), there are certain cases where such an issue may be important to address. Baker v. OPM, 782 F.2d 993 (Fed. Cir. 1986) is actually a case which continues to remain of interest, in that, there, the Court noted that where obesity had a causal impact upon the appellant’s back pain, and since the appellant failed to follow medical instructions to lose weight, therefore the cause of the back pain was not as a primary and direct result of a medical condition, but rather because of non-compliance of reasonable available corrective or ameliorative action.
Thus, there are certain areas where you will be in danger of having your disability retirement application denied: one such area, where the Merit Systems Protection Board has been fairly consistent, is non-compliance of a prescribed medication regimen. In other areas, however, especially where surgery is recommended but where the percentage of success cannot be easily quantified, there is much more leeway. Disability Retirement is an area of law which encompasses a wide range of complex and potential “legal landmines”, and it is often a good idea to seek the counsel of an experienced attorney to help guide your way.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Reasonable Medical Treatment and Compliance Issues, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), When the OPM Application Is Denied | Tagged: Baker v. Office of Personnel Management, chronic back pain among postal workers, chronic back pain is usually a disabling condition, civil service disability, disability retirement for injured Veterans Affairs employees, federal owcp, federal employee disability, federal employees with disabling back pain, federal medical retirement, federal workers comp, FERS Disability, filing for OPM disability retirement, getting OPM disability benefits, important warnings when filing for opm disability retirement, low back pain and your federal job, non job related injures or illnesses, non job related injuries or illnesses, obesity in OPM disability retirement, OPM disability doesn't have to be job-related, OPM medical retirement, OWCP benefits for federal workers, OWCP has to be job-related, OWCP lawyer for federal employees, Post Office disability, Postal Service disability, prescribed medication regimen and opm disability, reasons for opm disability retirement, reasons why the opm can deny disability application, resources for injured federal workers, USPS disability retirement, when causation is an issue in opm disability law | Leave a comment »